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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24735193">The Stranger Is Still You</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heartwriter2607/pseuds/Heartwriter2607'>Heartwriter2607</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Stranger Is You [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Archie Comics, Barchie - Fandom, Riverdale (TV 2017)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Arguing, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Drama, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Heartbreak, Love, Mutual Pining, Naval Academy, Near Future Fic, Riverdale will always be a wicket little town, Romance, Second Part of "The Stranger Is Always You", Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, The highs and lows of falling in and out of love, Things are about to get heavy, Yale University</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 03:15:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>90,609</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24735193</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heartwriter2607/pseuds/Heartwriter2607</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Second Part of the "The Stranger Is You"-Series!</p><p>“Life will get easier once you go to Yale, Betty! You’ll see, everything will turn out amazing!”<br/>“The Naval Academy is a good thing. It’s the right way, Archie. Just trust your instincts”. </p><p>Everyone always seemed to be amazed by the part of your life when you leave your hometown behind and step into a future full of new people, new lessons and new places. Getting a good education and going to a well-respected college was always the goal, wasn’t it? </p><p>Leaving Riverdale should feel invigorating.<br/>But Betty and Archie both know, that life doesn’t always hold what it promises. And it sure as hell isn’t fair, nor does it work the way you want it to. </p><p>They both leave into different directions, trying to hold onto the invisible bond between them, desperately fighting to remember their past, their history and their just emerged relationship.  </p><p>“Absence makes the heart grow fonder”. </p><p>But it’s not as easy as it seems when you look out of an empty window, unable to see a well-known face of the other side of the glass... and suddenly you are left with nothing but an hollow shadow of your past.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Archie Andrews &amp; Betty Cooper, Archie Andrews/Betty Cooper, Barchie - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Stranger Is You [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1788499</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>138</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>204</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Like The Earth Loves The Moon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hi! :)<br/>I recommend reading the first Part "The Stranger Is Always You" first:<br/>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23756455/chapters/57058171</p><p>Hope you guys like this story as well… things are about to get a little more serious… but that's just how life works, right? </p><p>Youtube Trailer for this story is called Riverdale Season 5 - The Stranger Is Still You :)<br/>https://youtu.be/SMmH-nQnnzE</p><p>Follow me on twitter for updates on my stories: @heartwriter2607</p><p> </p><p>Take care! xx</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>“Perhaps I need to learn how to love you</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong> the way the earth loves the moon. </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Fondly, bot from a distance.” – F.E. Marie</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>There is a thing about the future that no one really tells you when you grow up.</p><p>The only thing which seems to be important under the age of eighteen is having good grades in High School, so you can go to a good and reputable college once you finish school.</p><p>Your parents promise you that once you leave your hometown, everything will turn to the better and you’ll start a new life… <em>a better life</em>. The life you always dreamt about.</p><p>But the truth is… this new life kind of sucks.</p><p>Betty Cooper tried her best to let the advantages of the Yale University enrich her time in New Haven. She knows that life could be beautiful, if she would be able to let go of the past and dive into this astonishing and partly way too serious everyday life.</p><p>This part of her life has always been lingering for her… screaming at her… partly in the way her mother always urged her to get the best results at every exam at Riverdale High… partly in the way the big Yale-Posters seemed to stare her down from the wall in her room, always remembering her that the way of her future was already decided the second she was born.</p><p>Betty Cooper was always supposed to be the perfect girl.</p><p>
  <em>The perfect girl next door.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The perfect daughter.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The perfect student. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>The perfect girlfriend. </em>
</p><p>But the truth is that Betty never really was the glamorous and marvelous person everyone always saw in her. There was much more darkness behind the pretty face that everyone could ever imagine, much more pain lying under the tight, blonde ponytail and she knew that the façade she tried to hold up every single day of her life started to crumble the second all the horror and drama flooded over Riverdale like a wave of cold water, starting to freeze all the goodness and love in this doomed town.</p><p>She should be glad to be in New Haven now. She should be thankful.</p><p>But just because you finally get what a part of you always wanted, doesn’t mean you are happier than before. Sadly, that’s not how life works.</p><p>Because you won’t be happy in your long-awaited future, if you left something important in your past.</p><p>For Betty Cooper, this “<em>something important from her past”</em> is Archie Andrews.</p><p>It’s been four months since they last saw each other.</p><p>
  <em>Four months of living in new parts of the country.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Four months of trying to fit in a new place and in a new group a people. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Four months of only speaking to each other through some telephone calls and text messages. </em>
</p><p>Watching him leave at the end of June was not as easy as Betty had imagined. He called her when he reached Annapolis in Maryland and they talked every day for the following week… only to realize that talking on a daily basis is not as easy as they thought it would be.</p><p>“I’m not able to answer your calls or messages within a few hours, Betty. They take us to some exercises or practices from time to time, so I won’t have my phone around 24/7”.</p><p>It was clear to the both of them that talking to each other every evening wasn’t something that they could make work.</p><p>“Just write me”, Archie said after a month at the Naval Academy, his voice exhausted and spent through the rushing sounds of the cell phone connection. “Text me, Betty. Write down everything you would normally tell me on the phone, okay? And when I have the time to read it, I’ll call you back and we will talk about it… we will speak as often as possible. But when I don’t have my phone for a few days, just text me everything that happened, okay?”</p><p>And that’s how their long-distance relationship started.</p><p>She called him every evening and whenever he wasn’t available, she wrote him a message to tell him about her life so he could respond to it, whenever he had the time.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>28<sup>th</sup> August 2020</em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p><strong>  </strong> <strong> <em>Hey, Arch.</em> </strong></p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>You have no idea how hot it is in Riverdale right now… I spent the day with Veronica at the old, little lake we used to go swimming a few weeks ago. The heat is hardly bearable, and I can’t wait for the summer to be over. I’ll leave for New Haven in a week… I’m excited… but I’m also scared, you know? </em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>I’ll talk to you soon! Hope they are treating you guys good down there in Maryland! </em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p><strong>  </strong> <strong> <em>In love, </em> </strong></p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>Betty</em> </strong>
  </p>
</blockquote><p> </p><p>He calls her back at the next morning and they speak over an hour on the phone, talking about every little detail that happened in their lives.</p><p>The first few leaves turn yellow and fall to the ground when Betty leaves to New Haven.</p><p>Saying goodbye to Riverdale is harder than she thought, and cries while she hugs her mom goodbye and almost throws up from nervousness when she takes the first step into the University.</p><p>Yale is smaller than she imagined as a child and somehow seems older than in her dreams. The building looks a little like a school from England, old stones surrounding the buildings in an ancient way and it takes several minutes until Betty realizes that she’ll actually live here for the next five years.</p><p>She shares her dorm room with a girl named Jane McKenzie and Betty is kind of glad that the small, brunette girl doesn’t seem like a big talker. They both seem to be a big overwhelmed with everything which makes it easy to concentrate on your own thoughts and feelings in the first few hours.</p><p>Going to sleep isn’t easy for Betty in the first night in the new city… partly because Janes snores a little bit which sounds damn loud in their little room… and partly because her mind is way too distracted with the new surroundings.</p><p>It’s the first night she wonders how hard it must have been for Archie to leave one entire month earlier than all his friends back in Riverdale… so she does what became some kind of routine for her. She writes him.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>7<sup>th</sup> September 2020</em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p><strong>  </strong> <strong> <em>Hi Archie! </em> </strong></p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>New Haven is amazing!! The city is so much bigger than Riverdale and everything looks much more expensive and older at the same time… today was my first day at the university and to be honest, it was kind of overwhelming. The people are nice and polite, and I think it’s safe to say that none of them is some kind of serial killer or psychopath… so everything is different than in Riverdale. </em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p><strong>  </strong> <strong> <em>Hope you are alright! Talk to you soon! xx</em> </strong></p>
</blockquote><p> </p><p>It’s around two in the morning when she sends him the message and she just stares at his profile picture for several minutes, a sad smile appearing on her face as a result of the longing in her heart.</p><p>He doesn’t answer in that night and she tries to ignore the heavy feeling in her chest when she falls asleep, his face vanishing once she closes her eyes.</p><p>The next time he is the one that writes her.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <strong> 14<em><sup>th</sup> </em><em>September 2020</em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p> <strong> <em>Hey Betty, </em> </strong></p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>I hope you’re doing alright. I tried to call you today but then I realized I’m not the only one who is busy anymore… how are your classes? Are the people still as nice as last week? </em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>Even though it’s the middle of September, the days here in Annapolis are still very long and warm. I would kill for a POP’s milkshake right now… it’s surprising that the food at the Academy passes as edible. </em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>Call me when you read this… </em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p><strong>  </strong> <em><strong>Archie</strong> </em></p>
</blockquote><p> </p><p>Betty smiles when she reads his message and her heart jumps when he greets her on the phone several minutes later, while they dive in another, long conversation about fundamental, different lives.</p><p>She tries not to focus too much on the fact, that hearing his voice is kind of lightening up her whole day, because admitting this would hurt too much.</p><p>“I miss you, Arch…”, she mumbles on the phone and it takes a moment for him to reply.</p><p>His voice sounds a little broken. “I miss you too”.</p><p> </p><p>So, the days pass by like an old montage and slowly, Yale somehow gets a bit more comfortable and familiar for Betty.</p><p>She gets a text message from Veronica in November and they both talk to each other over the phone for over an hour, telling each other all sorts of stories both of them experienced in their new lives. Since everyone left Riverdale in late August and early September, they all really focused on their own way for quite a time.</p><p>Betty and Veronica seemed to slowly drift apart during the last few weeks and she hates how she didn’t even notice that before they talked to each other on the phone. It’s not simple to keep in contact with your friends from High School because everyone is focused on their own little problems on these days.</p><p>“You’ll have to come visit me in New York, Betty!”, Veronica commands her over the phone with a joyful laugh. “You should have seen the Thanksgiving parade last week… this is literally a dream come true… and Barnard is just unbelievable. I’ll have to show you the pictures the next time we see each other”.</p><p>They both promise each other that they’ll stay in touch more than in the last months and Betty is glad that after everything that happened, Veronica and her still seem to share a special bond of friendship. But that doesn’t change the fact that it gets pretty hard to keep in touch with people from your past once you live a life without them by your side.</p><p>Sometimes holding on to the past is a lot harder than reaching for the future.</p><p>And so, Betty’s life turns into a mixture of meeting new people, studying and trying to keep in touch with the people from Riverdale, while slowly realizing that it’s pretty hard to bring everything under one roof.</p><p>
  <em>She goes to her classes and eats dinner with Jane while texting her mom that everything is going alright, and she doesn’t have to worry about her. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>She talks to Archie over the phone while sitting at the desk in her room, starring at the learning material in front of her. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>She sits on her bed at night, starring at photos from her phone, her eyes wandering over the smiling faces of her friends.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She thinks about the short time she had with Archie before their ways parted in the last summer and how the joy she felt in those moments slowly starts to fade into memories. </em>
</p><p>And so, the weeks go by in a nearly dizzying speed, the new impressions and sundry lifestyles tearing down Betty and Archie’s perfect plan of sharing everything with each other. They talk nearly everyday on the phone and whenever one of them isn’t available, they start to write messages.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em> <strong>10<sup>th</sup> December 2020</strong> </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> <strong>Hey Arch,</strong> </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> <strong>I guess you’re in the middle of one of those training sessions you talked about… or maybe your phone just died.</strong> </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> <strong>Can’t wait to see you in two weeks… my mom is already planning what exactly she wants the cook on Christmas eve… This was always one of her favorite holidays. I have to admit… I’m pretty excited to go back to Riverdale for a few days.</strong> </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> <strong>Can’t wait to see you there…</strong> </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> <strong>Call me when you read this.</strong> </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> <strong>Betty xx</strong> </em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p> </p><p>The blonde girl sights when she hits send and throws the phone on her bed, closing her eyes for a short moment.</p><p>“Is everything alright?” Jane McKenzie, her roommate is looking up from her desk, her brown eyes shimmering through the thick glasses on her round face.</p><p>The two girls have been living together for almost four months now and even though it’s a little weird to share a room with someone after spending years sleeping alone in a one it’s pretty nice to have someone around whenever you get overwhelmed with all the homework.</p><p>“Yeah…”. Betty smiles at her and then turns her head, looking directly through the window, watching the tress right in front of the glass with an empty expression. “I’m just happy that I can go home for a few days… I really miss my family”.</p><p>“Right… or you just miss your boyfriend”. Jane laughs and her eyes fall back on the book in front of her face. “We share a room Betty… I know that you text him nearly every day… and I recognize the smile on your face whenever he calls”.</p><p>A<em>lright… maybe I’m just happy to see Archie again.</em></p><p> </p><p>Living with Jane McKenzie can be a little stressful sometimes. Jane is about one head shorter than Betty and a little rounder than her, 18 years old and the first thing that comes to Bettys mind when she thinks about her, is that this girl is a nerd and a swot at the same time.</p><p>Int his short time Betty learned that Jane comes from North Carolina and one of the few things Betty has in common with her, is the fact that they both tried to get into Yale since the beginning of first grade. They both study a lot, which is kind of nice when you share a room and are able to ask questions to one another from time to time.</p><p>The both have a boyfriend from High School and Betty knows from Janes late-night-phone calls with him, that his name is Oliver and he actually never went to college. Apparently, he stayed in his hometown after High School and started working at his father’s auto repair shop which has been a family business since 1957.</p><p>Their dorm room is pretty small so it’s not avoidable to pick up on details like this from time to time.</p><p>Betty is pretty sure that Jane also knows the names of all her family members and even though Betty never mentioned Archie before, it’s not really a surprise that Jane knows about his existence.</p><p>They have been here for four months and Betty knows that the only thing keeping her going is the thought of seeing Archie again in two weeks. This will be the first time they will see each other again since he left for the Naval Academy at the beginning of July and it would be an understatement to say that Betty is missing his presence beside her.</p><p> <em>Five months without Archie. </em></p><p>
  <em>Only two more weeks until she can finally see him again. </em>
</p><p>“You’re right, Jane”, Betty simply answers after a long moment. “I really can’t wait to see Archie again”.  </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Her plan started to crumble two days before Christmas. </em>
</p><p>The grey sky blends with the white landscape around her car while Betty is on her way home, her green eyes wandering from the small clock on her car dashboard to the beautiful spectacle from the ice cold but also heartwarming beauty of her surroundings.</p><p>Winter was a long time coming this year and since the snow finally started to fall four days ago, the east coast turned into a bitter cold but also magically and charming wonderland.</p><p>With her fingertips tapping on the steering wheel and the soft voice of the radio presenter announcing another Christmas song in the background, Betty can’t help but to smile at the long-awaited sign of the departure road, leading to the place she left behind half a year ago.</p><p>Her heart falls to her feet when she finally reaches her hometown after hours on the road and she smiles as she passes the old but familiar “<strong><em>Welcome to</em> <em>Riverdale</em></strong>”-sign at the entrance of the town, a warm feeling of security flashing through the blonde girl’s body.</p><p>It hurts driving through these snowy streets, knowing every house and every corner like she never really left, and she turns off the radio as soon as she finally parks her car in front of the Coopers house. She just sits there for a few minutes, starring at the well-known street, her eyes lingering on the two houses in front of her.</p><p>The neighborhood is covered under ice and snow and her eyes fall on the barely touched space in her front yard while she remembers thousands of icy-cold winter days when she used to build snowmen with Polly or Archie in front of their houses.</p><p>Her heart is about to jump out of her chest by the thought of finally reuniting with Archie in this beautiful snowy town and all she wants to do is leave this car, get inside her house and wait 24 hours until she can finally see him again.</p><p>She is about to reach for her bag on the backseat as she takes a quick look on her phone.</p><p> </p><p>That’s when she sees that Archie tried to call her several times during her ride…</p><p>… and that’s when she sees his text message.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>22<sup>th</sup> December 2020</em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>Betty,</em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>I tried to call you all morning… you’re probably already on your way home. Listen, I have some bad news… my mom is coming to Annapolis. She just told me a few minutes ago… her plans have changed, and she wants to spent Christmas here with her new girlfriend Brooke… and me. I know this is unexpected… I can't come back to Riverdale this year… I’m so sorry. I’ll tell you the rest on the phone.</em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>Please call me as soon as you read this, Betty.</em> </strong>
  </p>
</blockquote><p> </p><p>With the car engine and thus the heather turned off, the coldness from the snow outside is slowly reaching Betty inside the car and her frozen fingers cling around the phone in total disbelieve.</p><p>It takes her a minute until she is finally able to call him back.</p><p>“Betty”. His voice is breathless as soon as he answers the call and she hates how much she is missing his voice.</p><p>“You won’t come”. Her words are a fact, not a question and something inside her seems to break.</p><p>He stays silent for a moment. “No”.</p><p> </p><p>A sad laugh is coming out of her throat as she fights a smile on her lips, staring through the car window while watching the snowflakes building a soft, white blanket on the cowling.</p><p>She is here. After half a year Betty <em>finally</em> made it home for a few days and it’s kind of ironic how the person she most wanted to see, won’t be here with her.</p><p>“Listen Betty, I’m so sorry… I just found out a few hours ago. It was a spontaneous decision from my mom, and I can’t… I just can’t leave her on Christmas Betty. <em>I can’t</em>”.</p><p>“I know”. <em>Of course, she knows</em>. Archie isn’t the kind of person who lets down his own mother.</p><p>They both stay silent for a few seconds and she swears that they just listen to each other’s breathing at this point, desperately trying to manage the current situation.</p><p>“I’m sorry”. They both know that all he can do is repeat these words over and over again and it’s a heartbreaking truth that Betty isn’t even able to see his face while he speaks.</p><p>She holds her breath for a few seconds, closing her eyes to paint a small smile on her lips. “I know you are… it’s not your fault Archie… it’s just… the circumstances”.</p><p>“Circumstances”. His laugh sounds sad. “We haven’t seen each other for nearly half a year… and circumstances ruin everything…”.</p><p>“I know it’s not fair”.</p><p>“It’s not just unfair… it’s totally fucked up, Betty”.</p><p> </p><p>She smiles at the phone and can hear him doing the same as they both fall into a hollow silence. Bettys eyes turn back to the red front door of the Cooper’s house and she can’t help but to feel disappointed at the thought of having to keep missing Archie longer than planned.</p><p>“This adult life isn’t as easy as we thought, huh?” She tries her best to sound funny, but she knows he can hear the pain in her voice.</p><p>“Yeah… not at all”.</p><p>It’s not like they didn’t try to see each other in the past few months. But the first weeks at the Naval Academy or Yale University were a lot more intense and overwhelming that they imagined them to be and suddenly life wasn’t as easy anymore.</p><p>So they promised each other that they would see each other again at Christmas… until life got in the way again.</p><p>“I miss you”. Her voice sounds broken and defeated as she watches the snowflakes fall on the glass on front of her. <em>This was everything she wanted. This was everything she needed</em>.</p><p>His words mirror her own and there is longing hiding in his voice. “I miss you too, Betty”.</p><p>Her fingers cling around her phone and she fights the storm inside her.</p><p>
  <em>She tries to ignore the plans they made for the next five days.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She tries to ignore how long she hasn’t seen his face. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>She tries to ignore the little present in her bag she got him for Christmas.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She tries to ignore the small ring in her pocket, that he left here for her. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>She tries to ignore how much she wanted to see him, to feel him, to be near him. </em>
</p><p>“I think… I need to go now… I bet my mom is already waiting for me”. Her voice is supposed to sound joyful and happy but the hurt and sadness is written all over her words as she grabs her bag from the backseat and steps out into the cold snow, her phone still pressed to her ear in an almost uncomfortable way.</p><p>“Betty…”.</p><p>“I’m okay”, she simply replies, closing her eyes to avoid the possibility of tears running down her cheeks. “Really, Arch, everything’s alright… I’ll speak to you as soon as possible, okay?”</p><p>Maybe it’s the weight of five months of separation that lies between them that makes this conversation so damn heavy. “Okay. I’m sorry, Betty”.</p><p>“I know”. She ends the call before she can say something stupid while sadness and anger is running through her body like boiling blood. The snowflakes fall down on her hair, her face, her clothes but she doesn’t even care anymore.</p><p>
  <em>Don’t hold high expectations, Betty. You will fall deep. </em>
</p><p>She takes a few deep breaths before she puts her phone in her pocket and walks over to the front door, putting her best smile on her lips as her mother opens the door.</p><p>“Oh my god, Betty! I’m so happy to see you, honey!”</p><p>The blonde girl lets her get pulled into a long hug and somehow, it’s actually calming to be back home.</p><p>“I’m happy too mom. It’s good to be home”.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>Christmas eve turns out to be perfect repeat of all the past Christmas days the Cooper family spent in this house.</p><p>It’s the first winter the Jones family lives under the same roof as them and it’s actually quite refreshing to have so much company over the holidays.</p><p>Reuniting with FP Jones is much more emotional than Betty had imagined, and she is positive surprised when she greets the man in the leather jacket once her mother invites her in and he just pulls her in his arms for a heartful hug.</p><p>Jellybean didn’t change at all which isn’t so surprising, considering that it’s only been a few months since Betty left and nothing really seemed to change in Riverdale since then. The young girl wears her hair in two braids and smiles at Betty when they see each other in the hallway.</p><p>The whole house smells like Christmas and Alice and FP obviously tried to make this whole “big-happy-patchwork-family-thing” as successful as possible.</p><p>It turns out that they didn’t even had to try this hard because even when Jughead returns home just two hours after Betty stepped through the front door, everything is much calmer than all of them expected.</p><p>“It’s good to see you, Cooper”. Betty smiles over his shoulder when he hugs her after entering the living room and she can’t help but to feel guilty about the fact that she never texted him in the last months.</p><p>Their unpretty breakup last May and their awkward yet calming conversation at the prom night in June left them at a very unclear situation.</p><p>
  <em>They are ex-lovers, yet they share a family. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>They are friends, yet they don’t really talk to each other anymore.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>They are Jughead and Betty… and everything mystery that once held them together, is now solved and over. </em>
</p><p>So, what’s left for them in a world where they don’t even go to the same school anymore?</p><p>“It’s good to see you too, Jug”.</p><p>The way he ends their hug with a warm smile and then turns away to throw the backpack on his shoulders on the beige sofa makes her realize that maybe they finally got to the point where they can be something much less complicated than they were before. <em>They could just be a family.</em></p><p> </p><p>Alice cooks an impressive meal and they eat dinner as a big, happy family. Betty tries to ignore that it’s the first winter without her father around and that the seat at the table where he usually sat is empty since he’s gone, and no one really dares to sit in his spot since then.</p><p>The one thing that didn’t really change is the fact that there is still this incomputable but unspeakable hint of murder and mystery in the air and Betty is pretty sure that this is something that will remain forever. After all the horror that the people in this town went through the last few years, no one could ever expect that things would go back to normal in the near future.</p><p>She listens to Jughead’s stories from his time on the University of Iowa and smiles when she realizes that he seems to be happy. It’s not a secret that Betty felt guilty for taking his spot at Yale, but it seems like all of that belongs to the past now.</p><p>Jughead, Veronica, Archie and Betty. They are all some chess pieces who were moving over the board in the last few years in bumpy movements, never really knowing where exactly to go.</p><p>But this is the very first time all four of them stand in their own little corner, finally finding the perfect spot to rest.</p><p>With Veronica in New York, Archie in Annapolis, Betty in New Haven and Jughead in Iowa, every single one of them is playing their own little game, their ways only crossing when they return to their roots.</p><p>Riverdale seems to be the middle of the chessboard. The place where they meet. The place where they play. The place where they beat.</p><p>All of that seems to be unimportant on this Christmas night, as the whole family laughs and shares stories like it was always meant to play out this way, even though there seems to be a dark shadow of their devastating past lingering in the perfectly cleaned corners in this house.</p><p> </p><p>It’s midnight when Betty returns to her room for the first time after half a year and she can’t help but to smile when she sits down on her mattress, running her fingers over the soft, pink fabric of the covers.</p><p>Her mind is circling around Archie and the last conversation they had earlier today, and she tries her best to burry the pain deep inside her soul.</p><p>This should have been their holidays. Betty knows that life isn’t fair but after nearly spending every day of her life with Archie Andrews by her side and then suddenly being left with nothing but a few phone calls between them is something that she just can’t bare much longer.</p><p>So, she grabs her phone, desperately to hear his voice, closing her eyes while sinking into the warmth of her pillows.</p><p>He doesn’t answer.</p><p>She tries it again 15 minutes later and the only thing she hears is the voicemail coming up after 30 seconds.</p><p>After the third try she gives up and throws the phone to the end of her bed, frustration and sadness written all over her face.</p><p>
  <em>“Just write me when I can’t come to the phone, okay?” </em>
</p><p>Archie’s voice from a few months ago is echoing through her head as she turns of the lights and stares into the darkness around her.</p><p>
  <em>This isn’t only the first time she doesn’t write him, but also the first time she doesn’t even know what to say in the first place. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>The dreamless night ends early the next morning when Betty opens her eyes to the soft, grey light shining through the window and the sounds of an already awake family talking in the kitchen downstairs.</p><p>She groans while turning around and reaches for her phone on the end of the bed, still half asleep when she reads 7:23 am on the bright screen.</p><p>“Too fucking early”, she mumbles while stretching her whole body under the covers. It’s officially Christmas morning and it’s no surprise most of the families in Riverdale are already awake to open the presents under the Christmas tree.</p><p>There is no point of going back to sleep because she is already awake at this point, so she gets out of her bed in shaky steps, still dressed in a blue reindeer-pajamas and her hair tangled from the sleep.</p><p>She takes another look on the phone in her hands and tries to ignore the disappointment in her chest as she realizes that Archie never called her back.</p><p>“<em>Merry Christmas to me</em>”. The words come out in a whisper as she turns her face to the window beside her.</p><p>She tries it… she really tries to fight it with all her power. But she can’t help but to look through the frozen glass of the window in front of her, her tired eyes starring to the building on the other side.</p><p> </p><p>Archie’s room is dark and is a sharp contrast to the white world around it. Riverdale seems to be buried under a layer of snow and Betty’s eyes follow one single snowflake on the other side of the glass.</p><p>She watches how the little flake gets stuck on the window and freezes on the glass immediately.</p><p>Maybe that’s her way to avoid the painful sight of the empty room across from her and how much it hurts to remember the days when Archie was smiling to her through the glass.</p><p>Back then the world was still okay. Back then everything made sense.</p><p>For a second it feels like the ice on her window is reaching the depths of her soul and Betty wants to turn away as suddenly, the light in the room across from her lights up.</p><p><em>Maybe it’s just imagination</em>; she thinks. <em>I’m probably crazy at this point. </em></p><p>But she stands still, frozen in place just like the snowflakes on her window in front of her, her suddenly wide eyes starring through the glass in total disbelieve.</p><p>The blonde girl rubs her eyes, tries to understand how it is even possible that someone could turn on the light in an empty house.</p><p>
  <em>The moment she starts to think that this might just be a hallucination, she sees him.</em>
</p><p>His dark silhouette outlined by the light in his room, his slow steps towards his window, his red hair and his small smile drawn like a perfect picture right in front of Betty’s eyes.</p><p>Archie Andrews is standing across from her in his childhood room, his profile clearly visible through the snow outside and the second her eyes meet his, the world seems to stop for a few heartbeats.</p><p>
  <em>How? Why? When? What? </em>
</p><p>Many questions shoot through her head in this very moment but all of them get pushed aside as soon he smiles at her through the window. She can’t see his face clearly because of the frozen glass between them but she knows that he is here. <em>He is actually here.</em></p><p>That’s when she turns around and rushes out of her room, down the hallway, nearly stumbling over her own feet and almost falling down the stairs in the progress.</p><p>“Betty! Not so fast, you’ll break your leg when… wait where are you going?” The voice of her mother echoes through the living room as Betty opens the front door and runs outside without bothering to put on a coat.</p><p> </p><p>The temperature falls about 25 degrees the second she steps on the snow with her fluffy, pink socks and the icy air nearly catches her breath as she races over the sidewalk to the Andrew’s house.</p><p>The snow clings to her whole body as she turns and steps in the neighboring front yard and then she can see him already standing there, right on the doorstep.</p><p>“<em>Oh my god</em>”. Her voice is a cry and a whisper at once as their eyes meet and he jumps from the steps and runs towards her, his feet sinking into the layer of snow around them.</p><p>A small smile and the broken look on his face is the last thing she sees before she jumps into his arms and he stumbles backwards, nearly falling into the snow.</p><p>“Woah… careful”. She can feel the sharp contrast from the cold air around them and his warm breath as he laughs against her ear while she clings to him, burring her face in the curve of his neck, tears mixing with the frozen snowflakes on her skin.</p><p>Everything feels way to unreal.</p><p>Maybe that’s the reason she refuses to let go of him the next minute, her eyes closed while they stand there, bodies pressed to each other, her arms looped around his neck, his arms around her back, lifting her on her tiptoes.</p><p>“You’re here”. Her voice is a croak while she feels like she can breathe again, taking in the painfully familiar scent of his clothes, of his body.</p><p>His arms close around her a little tighter than before and she can feel how he lays his chin on her hair, the same way he used to act the last summer in the short time they had together. “I’m here”.</p><p>“How is this even possible? You… you said you would be in Maryland over the holidays”. It’s astonishing how every bad feeling gets swiped out of her body while he is holding her this close and she is past the point where she wants to know why.</p><p>“I made a deal with my mom”, he mumbles against her hair. “I spent the last evening with her and her girlfriend… and I can stay in Riverdale for the rest of the holidays.”</p><p>Her head shoots up and she nearly gives him a head nut while doing this spontaneous move. “Wait… you’re telling me that you’ll stay the whole week?”</p><p>“Yes”.</p><p>“And… your mom stays in Annapolis?”</p><p>There is a smirk in the curve of his lips as their eyes lock with each other. “Yes.”</p><p>“Hmm…”. She tries to fake a sad face. “… but I was so excited to see Mary again…”.</p><p>“Yeah, I bet you were”.</p><p>The sarcasm vanishes in the ice-cold air as she stares up at his, her eyes taking in every single feature of his face. There are hundreds of snowflakes stuck in his red hair, but the coldness doesn’t reach the warm smile on his curved lips.</p><p>“No, jokes aside Betty…”. Suddenly there is a hint of sadness on his face as her eyes fall back to his. “I couldn’t just <em>not</em> come back to Riverdale. First I thought that I just had to stick to my mother’s plans but then I realized…”.</p><p>There is an unspoken mixture of feelings between them and her heart breaks by the realization that this is the first time after half a year that she is actually able to look directly into his eyes again.</p><p>“Then you realized…?”, she asks while raising her eyebrows a little.</p><p>He seems to hesitate for a second but the hint of concern in his eyes fades away like the sadness in her heart. “Then I realized that I have my own plans”.</p><p>With that he reaches down to her and his lips meet hers after months of separation.</p><p>Her world spins around her while his warm presence seems to shield her from the coldness around them and she leans into him like he is her own, personal safe place.</p><p>The need and longing inside her seems to burn her alive as they part their lips again, forehead pressed against forehead while they breath in the same air, the shivers on her body not only caused by the snow on her clothes.</p><p>“I missed this”, he mumbles with closed eyes and she just nods while burring her hands in his coat, trying to shield her skin from the cold.</p><p>It’s only been a few months since they went to college… a few months without each other… a few months in different places. But this feels like hell, even though they are still here, still together somehow. She tries to focus on the reality in front of her, tries to ignore the impending future that holds different ways for them once again. Maybe it’s because she is just used to have Archie around every day of her life, but she now realizes how hard the last months were for her and how long the time without him seemed to stretch.</p><p>So she reaches up again, lays her cold lips on his, much more gentle than the times before.</p><p><em>I missed you</em>, she tells him in an almost desperate way.</p><p><em>And I missed you</em>, he answers by kissing her back.</p><p>They stay like this for minutes, finally able to be with each other…</p><p>… but Betty can’t keep herself from asking one question in her head over and over again.</p><p>
  <em><strong>How the hell will they manage to keep living like this for the next 4 and a half years?</strong> </em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. My Ocean, My Moon, My Reason For Falling, It's Always Been You</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Youtube Trailer for this story is called Betty &amp; Archie Season 5 - The Stranger Is Still You :) </p><p>https://youtu.be/SMmH-nQnnzE</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>
    
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>“The rains have their oceans,</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>and the sun has its moon.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Everything needs a reason for falling,</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>and I have you”.</strong>
</p><p>
  <b> <strong>Beau Taplin • A Falling</strong> </b>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Alright, 20 more! Let’s find out which one of you will be the fastest!”</p><p>Archie’s breath is quickening with every second, his heart beating against his chest in an almost painful way while he is pushing his trembling body off the ground over and over again.</p><p>“Keep going… no one is leaving before you’re finished!!”</p><p>4…3…2…1 and then Archie is <em>finally</em> falling to down on the grass, feeling every little twitch in the muscles of his whole body.</p><p>“Good… we’re finished for today. I’ll see you tomorrow for the next round”.</p><p>The distant, sharp voice of Mr. Davis, the instructed coach of the Naval Academy is echoing over the sports ground and slowly fading in the surrounding talking of the other students around him.</p><p>“Common man… he’ll have you do an extra round tomorrow if he catches you laying on the grass like that for another 10 minutes”.</p><p>Archie turns around, letting his back fall on the ground under him, his eyes starring against the sun, a groan coming out of the back of his throat as he grabs the hand that the guy beside him is reaching out for him.</p><p>The sun hits his face as he finally stands on his feet and he starts following the rest of the group to the dormitory.</p><p>“Man…”. An exhausted laugh escapes Archie’s mouth as he stares at the blonde guy beside him. “I always thought this exercise would get easier once the summer is over… but I guess the sun will always hit you like a bus around here”.</p><p>“Yeah… it’s a fucking curse”.</p><p> </p><p>It’s already November in Annapolis but there are some days that are still pretty warm which makes the daily exercise on the sports ground not quite as simple as Archie first believed. Even though he did train a lot back in Riverdale and was a sporty person in general, the fitness program of the Naval Academy is much more demanding that he had ever imagined.</p><p>They are over 200 new students this year and Archie quickly learned that most of them are fit and trained people. The majority of the group are guys around Archie’s age but there is also a small group of girls in the training group that seem pretty determined to keep up with the challenging exercises.</p><p>All in all, the people in the Academy are a lot easier to handle than the people back in High School.</p><p>Maybe because they all left a part of their childhood behind when they left their homes… maybe because this right here is the first step into a future where they have to face challenges on their own.</p><p>That also counts for Archie.</p><p>His body feels worn-out on his way back to the sleeping rooms and when everyone is leaving to take a well-deserved shower, he is staying in his room, grabbing his phone from the table beside his bed.</p><p>“Gonna text your girl, huh?” The blonde guy from the sports field grins, while grabbing a towel from one of the cupboards in the room.</p><p>Luke Perez has been Archie’s roommate for five months now and he is more than glad that they get along most of them time.</p><p>It was the first of July when Archie first stepped into the little room in the ground floor of the dormitory when he found Luke sitting on the bed on the right side of the room, a burger in his one hand and something that looked pretty similar to a joint in the other.</p><p>It only took some days for Archie to realize that Luke is a good person… even though he might be stoned every weekend and hides alcohol under his bed, he is a funny but also strong-willed guy. His blonde hair and blue eyes have the ability to make all the girls in their training class crazy about him, and Archie couldn’t help but to laugh at the devastated look on their faces when they found out that the sunny boy of Maryland is already taken.</p><p>“I have a girlfriend at home”, he simply said on an August evening with a beer in his hands and headphones in his ears. “I like her… a lot, you know?”</p><p><em>Yeah</em>, Archie thought. <em>I know what that feels like. </em></p><p>Thinking about Betty is a blessing and a curse at once.</p><p>She is in the back of his head whenever he walks to his first lesson in the morning. <em>We used to walk to school together. </em></p><p>He thinks about her during lunch. <em>We used to share our food almost every day in primary school.</em></p><p>He misses her when he tries to sleep at night. <em>She used to lay beside me.</em></p><p>Whenever he looks out of a window, her face comes to his mind. <em>I miss you starring back at me. </em></p><p>Keeping I touch was way easier in the summer, back when he was the only one who went to college. Since Betty went to Yale in September, it got a lot harder to call each other every day.</p><p>“<em>Just write me when I can’t come to the phone, okay?” </em></p><p>He never thought that he would write essay-long text messages. Not even for a girl.</p><p>But he quickly changed his mind once he started getting messages from Betty whenever he looked at his phone after a long day and he realized that he would have to watch a lot of his believes and convictions break apart during this new time of his life.</p><p>Bettys soft and light voice is whispering in the back in his head every time he sits down to read her messages and he is past the point of thinking that this whole message-writing thing is a lame idea.</p><p>Because the truth is, that there are days where Betty’s messages are the only thing that keep his head up.</p><p>Maryland is beautiful and Annapolis is a great town, the people are nice and he already found a new friend in Luke.</p><p>But there is a big amount of nostalgia and homesickness hiding in his chest from time to time and reading Betty’s stories or hearing her voice over the phone is soothing the restless feelings inside his body, tearing them down in a gentle way.</p><p>Maybe that’s the reason why he can’t wait to finally return to Riverdale for the Christmas holidays.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>It’s the middle of December when he strolls through the downtown of Annapolis to find a Christmas present for Betty, Luke walking by his side like a stray mutt.</p><p>“It’s freezing man… why don’t you just by her some jewelry? Girls like that”, the blonde guy suggests while burring his hands into the pockets of his blue coat, his light eyes throwing an angry glance at the dark-grey winter-sky.</p><p>“Because I already gave her a ring before I left Riverdale”.</p><p>His answer brings a loud, shrill laughter out of Luke’s throat and his voice echoes down the small, rainy street with an amused tone.</p><p>“<em>God</em>… you really gave her a fucking ring? Don’t tell me you proposed to her, you weirdo”.</p><p>They turn into the next shop and a wave of warm heating air hits them in the face when he answers. “No… well, at least not at <em>that</em> day”.</p><p>“You’re kidding, right?”</p><p>“No… I asked her to marry me… in second grade”, he adds, amused over the shock that is written on Luke’s face beside him.</p><p>“You’re telling me you proposed to your girlfriend at the age of 9?”</p><p>“Well, actually at the age of 8, but yeah…”.</p><p>Another silly laugh from the blonde guy next to him. “You’re insane… not one normal person does something like that.” Luke falls onto one of the seating accommodations beside a regal filled with different kinds of snow globes. “This girl must be pretty special”.</p><p>Archie grabs one of the small snow globes and watches how the tiny snowflakes whirl through the little jar, slowly raining down on a little plastic city that somehow seems to look a lot like a wicket, little town called Riverdale.</p><p>“Yeah”, Archie mumbles, starring at the peaceful, little snow landscape in his hands. “She’s very special”.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>It’s the morning of the 22th December when his mom tells him that their plans changed.</p><p>“Archie… Brooke and I thought about spending Christmas at her place in Annapolis. I know you wanted to go back to Riverdale over the holidays.” Her voice is pleading over the phone and he can her the clear hesitation and nervousness in her voice. “But listen, if you don’t want this, or don’t want to spent Christmas with Brooke because you don’t know her very much, I can understand and… we will find another way, you just have to tell me…”.</p><p>One of Mary Andrew’s characteristics is always caring about her son’s well-being over her own. Maybe that’s the reason Archie can’t bring himself to tell her that going back to Riverdale was the only thing that kept him going through the last few weeks.</p><p>“No… mom, it’s alright. We can stay with Brooke, it’s no problem”. The staunchness in his approval is convincing enough to make her believe his lie.</p><p>“Thank you, Archie… thank you so, so much. This really means a lot to me… and to Brooke, of course”.</p><p>He smiles through the phone while he hears her happy words, while starring at a picture of Betty on the desk beside his bed, while a sobering and cold feeling rises in his chest.</p><p>He tries to call Betty several times during the day.</p><p><em>I’m sorry</em>, he thinks every time he gets send to the voicemail. <em>I’m so sorry. </em></p><p>He gives up after the seventh call and decides to write her a message, just like they did over the last few months.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em> <strong>22<sup>th</sup> December 2020</strong> </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> <strong>Betty,</strong> </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> <strong>I tried to call you all morning… you’re probably already on your way home. Listen, I have some bad news… my mom is coming to Annapolis. She just told me a few minutes ago… her plans have changed, and she wants to spent Christmas here with her new girlfriend… and me. I know this is unexpected… I won’t go back to Riverdale this year… I’m so sorry. I’ll tell you the rest on the phone.</strong> </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> <strong>Please call me as soon as you read this, Betty.</strong> </em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p> </p><p>After hitting send the first thing he does is throwing the phone on his bed in an almost aggressive way while turning to his window, starring at nothing but grey walls and white snow.</p><p>“You’re alright, man?” Luke is sitting on his bed, his phone in one hand, a cigarette in the other.</p><p>It’s the last few minutes they see each other this year before Archie leaves to Brooke’s house and Luke returns to his hometown Huntingtown.</p><p>The only thing Archie can manage at this point is a barely noticeable nod while grabbing his packed backpack from the floor and putting his phone back into the pocket of his jeans.</p><p>“Merry Christmas Luke”.</p><p>He leaves the room without caring about his shitty behavior and the last thing he hears from his roommate is a “Merry Christmas to you too, you brat!” echoing after him through the empty hallway.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>Brooke’s house is a lot smaller than the house Archie and his mom share in Riverdale, but as far as he can tell everything looks pretty sartorially and stylish. His mom is already there when he reaches the house and after eating dinner Brooke shows him a little guestroom where he can sleep over the holidays.</p><p>It’s clear that she is trying her best to make him feel welcomed and he knows by the uneased smile on his mother’s lips that they are both trying to make all of this work.</p><p>“Thank you, Brooke… it’s a great room”. He puts a smile on his face and is glad when both women standing at the door seem to be relieved by his words.</p><p>“Just tell me when you need anything”. Brooke is a lovely woman and that is the first time Archie starts to realize what a gift she is to his mother.</p><p>He smiles after them when they close the door and he has only seconds until the phone in his jeans starts vibrating.</p><p>“Betty”. His voice is breathless as soon as he answers the call.</p><p>“You won’t come”. Her words are a fact, not a question and the air is stuck in his lungs while listening to her voice.</p><p>He stays silent for a moment. “No… listen Betty, I’m so sorry… I just found out a few hours ago. It was a spontaneous decision from my mom, and I can’t… I just can’t leave her on Christmas Betty. <em>I can’t</em>”.</p><p>“I know”.</p><p>They both stay silent for a few seconds and all he can do is repeat his words over and over again. “I’m sorry”.</p><p>“I know you are… it’s not your fault Archie… it’s just… the circumstances”.</p><p>“Circumstances”. His laugh sounds sad. “We haven’t seen each other for nearly half a year… and circumstances ruin everything…”.</p><p>“I know it’s not fair”.</p><p>“It’s not just unfair… it’s totally fucked up, Betty”.</p><p>He hates that he misses her. He hates that he has to <em>keep</em> missing her even longer now.</p><p>“This adult life isn’t as easy as we thought, huh?” He can tell that she tries to sound funny, but he can hear the pain in her voice.</p><p>“Yeah… not at all”.</p><p>A beat of silence follows until she speaks again, her soft voice only a whisper. “I miss you”.</p><p>“I miss you too, Betty”. His voice sounds broken and defeated as he stares out of the little window in his room, watching the snowflakes clinging to the glass.</p><p>“I think… I need to go now… I bet my mom is already waiting for me”. He can tell that her voice is supposed to sound joyful and happy but the hurt and sadness is written all over her mumbled words.</p><p>“Betty…”.</p><p>“I’m okay”, she simply replies. “Really, Arch, everything’s alright… I’ll speak to you as soon as possible, okay?”</p><p>Maybe it’s the weight of five months of separation that lies between them that makes this conversation so damn heavy. “Okay... I’m sorry, Betty”.</p><p>“I know”. She ends the call before he can say anything else, leaving him with nothing but the longing inside his chest.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>Christmas eve is great… and also a living hell.</p><p>Archie’s mom and Brooke cook together, and they eat at a little table in the living room while he listens to stories from Brooke’s training time of her first years in the Naval Academy.</p><p>
  <em>Everything should be fine; all of this should feel calming. </em>
</p><p>But every time he looks at the clock on the green-painted walls or stares out of the windows behind the little, beige sofa he can’t help but to wish he was somewhere else instead.</p><p>He knows that his mom recognizes the look on his face around 11pm. He stares at the bright decorated Christmas tree while Brooke walks into the kitchen to get some more wine when his mom sits down next to him on the little couch, wisdom and truth glittering in her eyes.</p><p>“You want to go”, she simply says, and he turns to her with wide eyes.</p><p>“No… mom, I would never leave you guys on Christmas, I-“, he begins but she interrupts him immediately.</p><p>“I know that you wouldn’t leave me”, she states. “But I know that there is someone else out there that wants to see you just as much as I do… and I think you should go and spent some time with her before the holidays are over”.</p><p>Her understanding look puts a small smile on his lips. “You would be okay with that?”</p><p>“Archie, I am your mother”, she answers. “That means I’m always happy when I get to see you… but I’m even more happy when I know that you’re happy as well”.</p><p>They look at each other for a moment until Brooke returns into the room with a new bottle of wine in her hands. “Who wants something to drink?”</p><p>“Actually…”. Archie throws one last glance to his mother while standing up from the couch. “I need to go now… I really, <em>really</em> need to go”.</p><p>It takes him five minutes to grab the backpack and his car keys from his bed on the rest room and to say goodbye to his mom and Brooke.</p><p>“Drive save”, his mom tells him while hugging him by the opened front door. “You understand me? I don’t want to get a call from a police officer in the middle of the night, telling me my son had a car accident on Christmas because he was driving too fast”.</p><p>“Alright, mom don’t worry”. Snowflakes are getting stuck in his hair as he breaks the hug apart and smiles at Brooke who is standing behind his mother.</p><p>“Thank you for the meal, Brooke... and for everything else.” They share a smile when he turns around and disappears into the winter night, finally being on his way home.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>It takes him six hours to get to Riverdale. He drives for the rest of the night, his eyes following the bright snowflakes dancing in the light in front of his car, getting more tired with every hour that passes by.</p><p>
  <em>Reaching Riverdale feels like reaching home.</em>
</p><p>The night bleeds into the rising sun as the sky above him covers with grey clouds and he finally reaches his house on the early Christmas morning.</p><p>He parks the car on the side of the street and jumps out on the icy ground, holding in for a moment to take in the beautiful view of his old neighborhood.</p><p>His eyes stay on the Coopers house for a few seconds before wandering to Betty’s parked car beside him and his heart falls to his feet.</p><p>“Home sweet home”, he mumbles under his breath as he makes his way through the almost knee-high snow, opening the front door of his house a short moment after.</p><p> </p><p>It’s 6:30 in the morning and freezing cold in his house because his mom turned off the heaters when she left for Annapolis three days ago. The first thing he does in turning the heater on the highest level and then jumping into the shower to wash away the sleepless and stressful night, leaning against the shower wall at one point, almost falling asleep under the warm rain of water.</p><p>The feeling of being back home is a little weird. After spending half a year in Maryland, Riverdale somehow seems a little foreign to Archie.</p><p>Maybe that’s the reason why it nearly freaks him out when he takes the first step into his old room, turning on the lights in a well-known move.</p><p>He stares at his desk, his closet, his bed… and then he walks towards the window across the room, his gaze directed straight ahead.</p><p>
  <em>That’s when he sees her. </em>
</p><p>Betty Cooper, standing in a Christmas pajama behind the frozen glass of her own window, her green, wide eyes starring back at him.</p><p>There are a lot of thoughts whirling through his mind in that moment and ironically the loudest of them all is: <em>Wow… someone got up early, huh?</em></p><p>A smile breaks over his face and that’s when she suddenly turns around and disappears. Somehow, he knows what she is up to, so he leaves the room and hurries down the stairs, opening the front door to step out into the icy-cold front yard.</p><p>Somehow, she made it to his house under twenty seconds and his heart stands still for a second when he sees her appearing only a few meters away from him, standing in the snow only dressed in her blue Christmas pajama and some very bright, pink socks.</p><p>It feels like his legs aren’t even waiting for his head to make a call, they start to walk in Betty’s direction on their own and the next thing he feels is the impact of her whole body slamming against him and he stumbles backwards a few steps, almost losing his balance while catching the girl in his arms.</p><p>“Woah… careful”. He laughs in her ear while she seems to burry her face in the curve of his neck.</p><p>Her voice is a croak when she finally speaks. “You’re here”.</p><p>
  <em>Yeah, finally. </em>
</p><p>The grip of his arms around her gets a little tighter and he tells her everything. He tells her how he spent Christmas Eve with his mom and Brooke and how he drove the whole night to get to Riverdale in the morning.</p><p>“I have my own plans”, he tells her at one point and then she leans in and kisses him for the first time in six long months.</p><p>
  <em>God, how I missed this. </em>
</p><p>Images of a warm summer day flash through his mind, the memory of only her and him at a little lake in Riverdale. Then the picture changes and he watches himself getting in his car, remembering Betty’s broken face as he drove off in a future without her by his side, well knowing that he left her a promise in form of a little ring on her bed.</p><p>Weeks of new faces whirl through his head, the feeling of inconsistency and unfamiliarity filling his body as he goes through the memories of the last months at the Naval Academy.</p><p>Finally, he pulls back from the hurtful scenes in his mind, returns to reality with the feeling of Betty’s cold lips against his and her arms clinging to his body in an almost painful, familiar way.</p><p>He can feel the shiver on her skin and the logning in her touch and he is about to ask her to come inside when Alice Cooper appears in the front yard of the Cooper’s house, a red coat thrown over her shoulders.</p><p>“Archie? I didn’t know you would be returning to Riverdale… Betty, why don’t you invite him in, before both of you get sick from this weather!”</p><p>They break their kiss apart and he fights a smile on his face while waving to the blonde lady on the other side of the little, wooden fence. “Hi Mrs. Cooper”.</p><p>“Common”, Betty mumbles under her breath as she pulls him towards her house in a gentle way. “We better do what she wants, or she will cancel Christmas all by herself”.</p><p>He can’t help but smile at that and follows Betty through the snow, not only guided by the grip of her hands, but also the heartwarming feeling of having her so much closer than the last six months before.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>Spending the Christmas morning at the Cooper’s and Jone’s house feels weird. When Archie was younger, long before they even went to middle school, he used to spend hours in this house, playing silly games with Betty, running through the rooms so fast like they were haunted by ghosts.</p><p>Today everything is different.</p><p>It’s nice to see everyone again even though the reunion with Jughead seems a bit more tense than the others.</p><p>“You look… fit”, Jughead says after their short hug in the living room. “Seems like the Naval Academy is a good thing for you”.</p><p>“And you…”. Archie can’t help but to stare at the same old hat on Jugheads hair. “… you look exactly the same”.</p><p>The playful jokes between them seem to break the ice pretty quick and even though Archie isn’t a real part of this patch-work-family, for a short amount of time it actually feels like he belongs there.</p><p>He spends the whole day with chatting and talking to the different family members. Turns out Jellybean has still a crush on him which explains why her face turns red as soon as she sees him sitting at the kitchen table.</p><p>Talking to FP feels nice. Archie tries his best to hide the grateful feeling of not only being welcome in this house but also being able to talk to someone who has always been some sort of father figure to him. He buried the hurt and the devastating feeling of loss for a long time after Fred died, but sitting here in a house with the smell of Christmas cookies in the air, a warm and hearty food in his stomach while talking to a man that looks back at him with an proud smile on his face feels surpassingly calming.</p><p>Charles is the next one that involves him in a conversation and Archie tries his best to ignore the gaze of Betty from the other side of the table.</p><p>He doesn’t even have to look at her to know she is smiling at him.</p><p>He can feel that even though they are in a room with plenty other people, this moment somehow still belongs to them.</p><p>“How does it feel to return to Riverdale after months at the Academy?”, Charles asks at one point after dinner while the sun already left hours ago, leaving the town in complete and icy darkness.</p><p><em>Weird</em>, he wants to say. <em>Everything is so familiar and yet strange. </em></p><p>“Good”, is the word that finally leaves his mouth. “I missed this town”.</p><p>This is the first time he turns his head and looks at Betty for a fraction of a second, meeting her eyes over the table, knowing that every word he speaks is the absolute truth once he sees her face in front of him.</p><p>
  <em>I would always return to Riverdale. I would always return to her.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>He leaves the Cooper’s house half an hour before midnight, thanking Alice at the front door for the invination and the delicious dinner.</p><p>“You’re always welcome, Archie… I would love to have you here again. Tomorrow, if you want”.</p><p>“I would love to, Mrs. Cooper”.</p><p>His eyes fall down to Betty, who is standing right beside her mother in the hallway, smiling at him with shiny eyes.</p><p>“Goodnight”, he simply says to both women while taking a step backwards into the cold snow.</p><p>Betty seems to follow him until her mother holds her back. “I need your help in the kitchen Betty… we need to wash the dishes”.</p><p>He tries not to laugh at the annoyed look on Bettys face as she turns back to her mother. “Really mom?”</p><p>“We won’t leave this mess till tomorrow, Betty!”</p><p>“<em>God</em>, alright.” The blonde girl sights, turning to Archie one last time as his feet carry him through the dark front yard. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Arch”.</p><p>He smiles back at her as she rolls her eyes at her mother while shutting the door and he can’t help but to laugh as he returns to his own house.</p><p> </p><p>It feels weird to return to an empty home and the absolute silence is ringing in his ears as he steps into the dark hallway, throwing his shoes beside the front door and heading straight for the kitchen.</p><p>The only thing left in the fridge are three beers that his parents used to love, and he smiles at the memory of his father drinking these while watching football games in the living room. Fred Andrews might be gone, but this house will forever be filled with thousands of memories. He seems to live in the furnishings that no one bothered to change after his death, just like he lives in the drinks his mom still buys, just like she did for the both of them all these years back.</p><p>Archie shakes the feeling of loss to the side by grabbing one of the three bottles, opening the beer in a smooth movement and then walking over to the living room. He doesn’t even bother to turn on the lights while he steps into the dark room, starring at several picture frames on the shelves on the dark-green walls.</p><p>He drinks while he stares at the first picture. <em>Dad and me on the first day of school.</em></p><p>Another sip at the next picture. <em>Mom and Dad on their wedding day.</em></p><p>He turns his head. <em>Dad and me in the garage. </em></p><p>Another sip. <em>Me and Vegas, one year before he passed away.</em></p><p>The moon in front of the window and the lamp in the kitchen are throwing a cone of light to the living room, just enough to see all the pictures before his eyes.</p><p>He drinks again and then he spots the last picture-frame on the wall. His eyes are pinned on the small photo as he stares at Jughead, Veronica, Betty and himself, all of them dressed in blue and yellow graduation-robes, smiling in the camera with their diploma in their hands.</p><p>His mind returns to the colorful and emotional day when this photo was taken, and he hates how his heart aches at the memory.</p><p>
  <em>He remembers the proud smile of his mother.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He remembers Betty’s hand in his own as they waited in line to receive their diploma. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>He remembers the night at POP’s and how happy he felt back then.</em>
</p><p><em>All of that feels like a lifetime ago</em>.</p><p> </p><p>A sharp knock on the door brings him back to reality and he listens to the echo of the sudden sound before he walks back through the shadowy hallway, opening the front door with a slow swing.</p><p>He should have known who it is because <em>common</em>… Betty Cooper doesn’t listen to her mother.</p><p>But he is still surprised as the blonde girl in front of him jumps into his arms once the door is opened. There is snow on her hair as she clings around his shoulders and he steadies her with one arm, trying to put down the beer with his other hand.</p><p>“You have no idea how glad I am that this day is finally over”. Her voice sounds exited, and she leans backwards to show him the wide smile on her face.</p><p>“Did you just leave your mother alone with all the dirty dishes?”</p><p>“We’re already finished with all the cleaning… and then I just… kind of… sneaked out”.</p><p>It feels like his hand is working on it’s on as he reaches out and strokes some of the lose hair strains out of her face while some of the snowflakes on her head seem to glitter in the dim hallway light.</p><p>“Why does this give me major flashbacks to the time when you sneaked out to listen to some records with me?”</p><p>She leans into his touch, smiling up to him. “I’m not here to listen to some damn records, Arch”.</p><p> </p><p>The second her eyes fall to his lips he finally places the bottle in his hand on one of the shelfs beside him while she throws herself even more into his embrace, pressing her lips on to his in a way that makes him feel the raw mixture of emotions they both went through the last six months.</p><p>There is <em>joy</em> in the way she smiles against his lips as she stands on her tiptoes to reach him.</p><p>There is <em>excitement</em> in the way they both move with each other.</p><p>There is the numb feeling of <em>pain</em> as she bites on his lower lip while he picks her up by wrapping his arms around her thighs.</p><p>There is <em>nostalgia</em> in the glimmer of her green eyes that he knows so well after all these years as she stares up to him while he drops her on one of the cupboards by the wall.</p><p>There is <em>longing</em> in the soft groan in the back of her throat as he places a kiss on the side of her neck.</p><p>For a long time in his life, he never even thought about the image of Betty sitting on a commode in his hallway – today this is the only thing on his mind that really matters.</p><p>She crosses her legs around his back to pull him closer and he can’t help but smile about her delightful directness.</p><p>“I don’t think this is a good place”, he laughs at his words under his breath. “My mom would never forgive me when we do this this in the hallway”.</p><p>Her hands are in his hair when their eyes meet and something about the look on her face makes his words lose every meaning and importance all at once.</p><p>She doesn’t even have to say a word to him, he is pretty sure he can hear all of her mocking questions in the way she stares up to him.</p><p>
  <em>You sure about that, Archie?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Well your mom isn’t here… but I am. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>And by the way, stop talking about your mother, for god’s sake. </em>
</p><p>The fight is lost once she reaches up and seals his lips with her own and all he feels is Betty and the taste of cherry lip gloss on her soft lips, Betty and the beguiling scent of her vanilla shampoo in her hair, Betty and the soft hum on the tip of her tongue.</p><p>Maybe it was foolish of him to think that he couldn’t be enough for her. And it was even more silly to think that he could spent all his life watching her from a distance, witnessing her relationships with his poorly acted support, always asking himself why he couldn’t be the one holding her hand in a foggy November night at Pop’s.</p><p>The truth is; Betty isn’t perfect, and he isn’t perfect as well.</p><p>But spending moments like this with her by his side makes it clear to him that together, they could have something that comes pretty close to something like perfect.</p><p> </p><p>They don’t end up sleeping with each other in the hallway… and they don’t make it to his room either.</p><p>She laughs against his neck as he picks her up without any warning and carries her into the dark living room, throws her on the couch and just stares at her for a few seconds, admiring the beauty of the contrast, born of the dim moonlight on her golden hair against the dark underground below her.</p><p>It dawns to him how much she missed him by the way she reaches for him the second he takes off his dark-blue sweater and lays down on top of her and it would be a lie to say that he doesn’t like this impatient and urgent side of her.</p><p>Betty was always the perfect girl in his mind – <em>in every way possible. </em></p><p>Moments and situations like this never crossed his mind when he was in a relationship with Veronica. But he knows that a little part in his head thought about this when he realized that Jughead and Betty weren’t not only an official couple, but they were also sleeping with each other.</p><p>
  <em>Of course, Betty would have sex one day. </em>
</p><p>But that just wasn’t something that Archie had in mind until the day he knew for sure that his two best friends were jumping onto each other every time she closed her bedroom curtains.</p><p>Maybe this little part of him was already jealous back then.</p><p>Maybe because he wasn’t the one who was sharing her bed.</p><p>Maybe because he always thought that he would be the one Betty would share every important moment in her life with.</p><p>
  <em>Thinking back to these days he knows that he was selfish.</em>
</p><p>Rejecting Betty and then thinking that she would wait for him to realize that he made a mistake wasn’t only egoistic but also stupid of him.</p><p>Maybe he doesn’t deserve her after all.</p><p> </p><p>But he banishes this thought out of his dizzy head because <em>fuck</em> – he waited half a year to be near her again and if he spends one more second with doubting his self-worth, he will eventually lose his mind.</p><p>Living beside Betty was great, losing Betty was sad, continuing without her was hard… but getting her back – even just for a few days – could and <em>must</em> make up for all the weeks they spent apart.</p><p>He missed her too much to keep thinking about all the mistakes he made in his life, so he just focuses on the beautiful girl in front oh him, watches how she pulls the clothes from her body in a hectic but also smooth-looking way.</p><p>Normally this part takes a lot longer and they usually enjoy the fun that tearing each other’s clothes off brings. But he reads in her almost black eyes that their time apart hasn’t only affected him – it was hard for her too.</p><p>Maybe that’s the reason she doesn’t even wait for him to even touch her jeans or pullover and the next thing he knows is that all her clothes including her underwear are gone.</p><p>Underneath the shell of Betty Cooper has always been a much more impulsive and brave side than everyone always believed. Even Archie has been blind to these character traits for a couple of years until he realized that Betty was so much more than just a beautiful girl with a pretty smile.</p><p>“I love you”, she simply breathes as she stares up to him and for a second the trust and lust in her words are letting him freeze in place.</p><p>It took them months to get back to this point and he decides to answer her words with actions while leaning down and placing a line of soft kisses to her collarbone.</p><p>The way her body seems to shiver makes him smile against her skin as he moves down her chest, teasing the outline of her breasts with the tip of his tongue.</p><p>“I love you”, she repeats a second time while he shifts his whole weight on his left arm to use his right hand to repaint the lines of her body, moving from the side of her face to her neck, down to the soft skin on her waist in light movements.</p><p>Betty has a habit of doing everything fast and immediately and maybe it’s the fact that he waited too long for this, or that he wants to stretch this moment out as long as possible, that makes him want to slow down a little bit.</p><p>Their parts in their friendship have always been pretty equal and balanced but both of them seem to enjoy taking the upper hand once in a while when it comes to moments like this.</p><p>So, he can’t help but grin as she moans into the dark as his lips move further down her body, finally reaching the sensitive spot right between her legs.</p><p>And suddenly her hands are tangled up in his hair as some sort of approval and partly because he knows for a fact that she just likes to hold onto something when her body seems to shatter like this.</p><p>“Archie?” His name sounds like a question coming from her lips and maybe he is a little proud of the way he makes her voice tremble.</p><p>“Hm?” He doesn’t move and plainly enjoys his position of power for the moment.</p><p>She seems to struggle partly for air and partly for words. “Can you… can you please just…”.</p><p>He knows damn well what exactly she wants because Archie knows how to read Betty’s body language and also remembers from their time in the last summer that she can get very needy and impatient when it gets to taking things slow.</p><p>Betty and Archie are alike in many things but it’s little moments like these that seem to define their relationship in new ways. They both trust each other because it’s just the most natural thing to do but there is an electricity in the air that is new to the both of them and everything seems new and unfounded at once.</p><p>“Please…”. Her voice is a whisper as his tongue brushes over her skin and even if he didn’t really plan on letting it happen this early – she seems to break apart under his touch, her nails curling up in his hair and his name a soundless prayer on her parted lips.</p><p>He can see her soft smile in the dim moonlight when he looks up to her and a few seconds pass until her breathing gets a bit slower and she pulls him up to her with almost tired arms. Everything goes faster than usual, and Archie can only guess that this is attributed to the time they spent apart, months without one singe touch between them.</p><p>“God, you have no idea how much I missed this”. He loves how breathless she sounds as he gives her a short but warm kiss.</p><p> </p><p>There is something about sleeping with Betty that never crossed his mind before he did it the first time. Because the image of the innocent girl people used to give her doesn’t quite fit to the person in front of him.</p><p>It shows in the way she smiles when she turns him around, so he is the one laying on his back and after a short glance from her dark eyes he helps her get rid of his jeans and his boxer shorts.</p><p>He knows that Betty never lived up to the perfect picture everyone always saw in her, but it still surprises him whenever he watches her take control in moments like this.</p><p>There was a long time he never imagined her taking the lead in a situation like this but he can’t help but to show her the amazement and surprise in his eyes as she shifts beside him and places one leg of each side of his body, slowly letting herself sink down until she is completely sitting on him.</p><p>Maybe it’s the way her eyes never lose contact to his own or how amazing it feels to finally be reconnected with her – all he knows is that he can’t fight the groan in the back of his throat as she starts moving in an steady rhythm, slowly and teasing at once.</p><p>His head falls back, sinks into the softness of the couch underneath him and he closes his eyes for a moment, the total sensation of Betty’s movements being the only thing on his mind.</p><p>“I love you too”, he suddenly breaths out, his mouth speaking the thought in his head out loud.</p><p>When he opens his eyes again, she is already starring back at him, her dark eyes glittering in the moonlight while a small smile reaches her cherry-colored lips.</p><p>“I know”.</p><p>He wants to laugh at her plump answer but all he can do is stare at her beauty. Betty has always been an angel to him but laying here in the dark and watching her naked body on top of him is something that seems to beat every other picture of her that is hidden in the back of his head.</p><p>Maybe it’s the way she looks down at him, maybe it’s the way she steadies herself with her hands pressed to his chest… or maybe it’s just the feeling of the mutual love between them that pushes him over the edge without any warning.</p><p>It’s the first time they don’t need to be silent and he is glad that he can scream as loud as he wants as a triumphal smile appears on Betty’s face.</p><p>Seconds pass by until she finally leans forward and lays down onto his chest, skin on skin with nothing more between them than the sound of two fast beating hearts.</p><p>He tries his best to catch his breath while he reaches up to stroke the partly wet hair out of her face, his gaze lingering on her closed eyes and the minimal smile in the corner of her lips.</p><p>“You’re okay?”, he asks quietly.</p><p>Her answer is a soft “mhm” from the tip of her tongue and her body heat upon him gets even more intense once she seems to lean more into him than before.</p><p>So, he decides to join her silence by closing his eyes as well, his hands painting fine lines on her back from the top her neck to the bottom of her spine.</p><p><em>It was worth it, coming here in the middle of the night</em>; he thinks.</p><p>But not only because of this right here. Because of everything else as well.</p><p>He missed Betty more than he admitted and it was clear to him that he would drive a way twice as long as the road between Annapolis and Riverdale, only to spend a few hours with her.</p><p>The realization that a part of him seems to be devoted to Betty since he met her all those years ago should scare him, but to be true, he doesn’t care at all. Maybe because this affection is mutual. He knows it in the way she closes her eyes every time he touches her and how there seems to be a bond of unbreakable trust between them, holding them together in a way that was somehow always there but never so clear as in moments like this.</p><p>
  <em>I have never felt… whatever it is… that I’m supposed to feel with Betty.</em>
</p><p>His own words echo in his mind while a sudden image of the prom night four years ago flashes through his head and he nearly laughs at the fact that he was so totally blind to everything regarding his relationship with Betty.</p><p>He may have ignored it for a handful of years, but now it’s clearer to him than everything else in his life. The blonde girl in his arms is everything he ever wanted.</p><p>She pulls him back from his thoughts with sudden, small kisses that she places on his chest and he opens his eyes only to meet her peaceful gaze.</p><p>“What do you say… about making the best of the night… while we’re here…”. Her voice is barely a whisper, but he can see the passion in her eyes and the joy in her smile while her face falls into deep shadows born from the moonlight outside.</p><p>He doesn’t need to answer, he just pulls her towards him in the softness of the couch while her surprised laughter fills the dark but wonderful Christmas night.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I really hope you guys liked this chapter!<br/>And I have a question: I think that's the first time I actually wrote a sex scene a little more detailed and I would love to know if you guys are okay with scene like that or if I should leave the details out like I did in my first story?<br/>I have no idea how old the readers of this story are, so I'm a little nervous and unsure about this.. :D </p><p>And also:<br/>I uploaded a Trailer for this Fanfic on Youtube!<br/>It's called "Betty &amp; Archie Season 5 - The Stranger Is Still You" if anyone wants to see it :)</p><p>Here’s the link: </p><p>https://youtu.be/SMmH-nQnnzE</p><p> </p><p>Take care and stay save!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Wonderwall</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong> "Whenever you feel lost in time, </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong> place your hand over your heart, </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong> imagine it is mine. </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong> And with every beat, </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong> I hope you feel more alive. </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong> Just think of me until I arrive." </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong> S. Marie </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>Spending time with Betty during the Christmas holidays feels like dreaming. So much time has passed since the last summer and being here beside her now feels unreal yet fantastic at the same time.</p><p>The days after Christmas seem to blend into one another, a mixture of cold weather, icy snow, the smell of Christmas cookies and the tender feeling of affection in Archie’s chest, all joined together to something that feels more like a dream than reality.</p><p>They spent most of the time in his house and he loves that no matter how many days pass by with Betty by his side, it never seems to get boring.</p><p>The feeling of waking up beside her in his old bedroom is nostalgic. Normally Betty is the one who wakes up first and she has a habit of waking him with placing soft kisses on his skin, pulling him from one dream into the next.</p><p>His Christmas present for her is one of the snow globes he bought in the little shop back in Annapolis and for a moment he fears that it might be not good enough for her and that she expected something much more expensive or spectacular… until she reaches him an old comic book and confesses to him that her gift for him is a glass full of sea monkeys.</p><p>They laugh when she shows him the already prepared, little aquarium in her room and he watches the little water creatures behind the glass and can’t help but to laugh at the oddity of both of their presents.</p><p>On the third morning she is already gone when he opens his eyes and he finds her in the kitchen, only dressed in one of his large shirts, her hair tied up in an chaotic bun and he can’t control his laughter when he watches her dance around to some Christmas music which is playing on the radio on the kitchen counter. They end up having an old-fashioned cookie-dough fight when she caught him laughing at her and it doesn’t matter how much she tries to act scary – she looks like the most adorable human-being to him with dough crumbs on her face and an half-amused smile painted on her lips.</p><p>On the fourth day they end up watching several old Christmas movies in the living room and somewhere around midnight she falls asleep with her head on his legs, just like she did numerous times as a kid. His attention gets drawn from the black and white screen in front of him to the closed eyes of the blonde girl on his lap and he realizes once again that returning to Riverdale over the holidays was the right thing to do.</p><p>The fifth day passes by and they decide to eat dinner at Pop’s. Their clothes are soaked with snow once they reach the little Diner and they spent hours with eating burgers, drinking milkshakes and talking about the endless days they spent here as children.</p><p>Maybe it’s the way she watches him starring at her from across the table or how her hand searches for his own on their way home, because as soon as they enter the front door of his house both of their coats are thrown to the floor and they melt into each other, bodies pressed into one another, hands searching for skin, lips longing for the feeling of a kiss that was inaccessible for the last six months.</p><p> </p><p>They spent New Years Eve at the Cooper’s house and Alice cooks a cumbersome complicated dinner for everyone.</p><p>It’s snowing outside when the clock strikes midnight and they clink glasses filled with sparkling wine before stepping into the dark front yard, letting several firework rockets fly up into the icy winter-sky.</p><p>Betty is the first one by his side when he watches the colorful explosion in the air above them and he turns around to see the reflection of the bright lights in her shiny eyes.</p><p>“Happy new year”, he says, pulling her closer through the noise and tumult while another rocket flies past them.</p><p>“Happy new year, Arch”.</p><p>He remembers past New Years nights when they were little, and they would meet each other at midnight on the crowded streets. The memory of a young Betty with two braids and a pink coat flashes through his mind, running towards him to wish him a good new year with a short but heartful kiss on his cheek.</p><p><em>That’s nothing compared to the feeling of kissing her tonight</em>; he realizes, so he smiles against her lips and they pull apart to rejoin the other family members on the street, starring up to the sky and facing an unknown future all at once.</p><p>He leaves the next day.</p><p>There is pain hidden under Betty’s smile and he is pretty sure she knows that he can see it by the way she shoots him an apologetic look while she hugs him goodbye in his front yard. It finally stopped snowing for a few hours, but the sky is still covered with a layer of gray clouds while he throws his bag on the passenger seat and plays with his keys while turning them around his fingers in absent movements.</p><p>It’s a little direct how he just stands there and looks at the girl in front of him, starring at her wide, green eyes and the way she has her arms wrapped around her body like she is shielding herself from the cold, only dressed in some plain jeans and a pink sweater.</p><p>This scene feels like a callback to the day he left the first time back in June and he could laugh about the fact that the feeling of loosing someone over and over again doesn’t get better or easier with time.</p><p>“So, I guess I’ll call you when I get there”, he finally says, his eyes still lingering on her devastated face.</p><p>Betty is strong, she always has been. But he can see the mixture of sadness and helplessness lying under her faked smile and it breaks his heart, knowing that months will pass by until he can see this face again.</p><p>“Seems like we’re back at telephone calls and text messages”. She smiles because what else is there to do.</p><p>They reach for each other in the same moment and he closes his eyes while she wraps her arms around his waist. Like everything else in their relationship even their hugs seemed to have developed over the years and what started out as a friendly squeeze in their childhood years is now transformed into a much more emotional embrace with her closing her eyes against his chest and him leaning his head on her hair.</p><p><em>I’m gonna miss you</em>, he says while breathing in the vanilla scent of her shampoo one last time.</p><p><em>And I’m gonna miss you</em>, she answers with deepening the hug a little tighter for a short moment.</p><p>He kisses her one last time before he get’s inside the car and he loves and hates it almost in an equal way how the feeling of her lips makes him want to stay.</p><p>The feeling of loss and sorrow on his way back to Maryland is making his whole body numb and a little part of him starts to understand why most couples try to avoid a long-distance relationship.</p><p><em>This is fucking hard</em>, a silent voice in the back of his head admits in a low whisper.</p><p>This is so much harder than he ever thought it would be.</p><p>
  <em>And it won’t be getting better… in fact, it will get worse and worse every single time.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>He meets Luke once he steps in his dorm room and greets him with a “Happy New Year” while he throws his bag to the floor in front of the little table in the middle of the room.</p><p>The blonde guy is sitting on his bed, one headphone in his left ear, his head moving in rhythmic intervals to the little beat sounds that even Archie can hear on the other side of the room.</p><p>“Hey man”, his roommate says with his gaze still directed to the phone in his hands. “Happy New Year to you too… how was Christmas? Had fun at your mom’s girlfriends house?”</p><p>Archie takes off his coat and throws it over the lean from the chair in front of the table. “I went back to Riverdale”.</p><p>“You did?” That’s the first time Luke actually looks at him. “Had to see your girl, huh?”</p><p>Archie doesn’t answer, he just smiles at his words while falling back on his own bed, starring at the grey ceiling. “What about you? How did you spend the last week?”</p><p>“Visited my girlfriend as well”, is Luke’s easy reply, but his words aren’t as joyful as Archie thought.</p><p>“What happened? Wasn’t it good to spend some time with her?”</p><p>“Yeah…”. Rustling fills the room while Luke leans out of his bed to reach for the hidden box right under it. “But it’s a lot harder than we thought it would be, you know? It’s damn stressful to keep in touch like this… I don’t know man, I feel like this long distance thing is getting over my head a little bit”.</p><p>He doesn’t answer to that either, partly because he doesn’t know what to say and partly because a part of him feels guilty for feeling the exact same thing.</p><p>“But isn’t it worth it, when you see her again?”, he finally speaks, turning his head so he can see Luke on his side of the room, watching him pulling out a lighter for the cigarette in his hands.</p><p>The blonde guy shrugs his shoulders while taking the first puff of the cigarette, starring into the void. “It’s fantastic to see her… but to be real, I don’t know how long it will take until that feeling simply won’t be enough, you know? It’s great to visit her, it’s nice… but leaving her again every time is a lot harder… I guess I have to figure out what is best for me… and her… for the both of us”.</p><p>Silence follows his words and Archie just stares at the ceiling again, trying his best to shut out the loud voices in his head.</p><p>
  <em>Voices that tell him that he can relate to Luke’s words. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Voices that whisper that his own relationship with Betty stands on the same, thin ice as the one of Luke.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Voices that seem to scream at him that every long-distance relationship is doomed to fail sooner or later, no matter the friendship, no matter the love. </em>
</p><p>“You want one?” Luke’s question pulls him out of his thoughts, and he turns his head to see him pointing at the red cigarette box in his hands.</p><p>“No”, he answers a little lower than before while turning his face back to the ceiling, closing his eyes to shut out every red flag and warning sign that seems to appear right in front of him. “No, thanks… I’m good”.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>The weeks pass by in Annapolis and the snow is a lot more persistent this year than he ever was back in Riverdale. It’s the end of January and the landscape around the Naval Academy still looks like a town straight out of a Christmas movie.</p><p> </p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <strong>28<sup>th</sup> January 2021</strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>Hi Betty, </em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>I totally forgot that you have classes today… I guess I’m just checking in to say hello. </em></strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>The exams you asked about went well and I’m actually quite surprised about that. </em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>I hope everything is fine in New Haven?</em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>Speak to you soon,</em></strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>Archie</em> </strong>
  </p>
</blockquote><p>Archie drowns in homework, classes and sport training for the next month and he tries his best to be grateful for the opportunity to get to study at a place like this. He gets up at 7 in the morning, goes to his classes until afternoon and directly after he has to attend different kinds of physical exercises. The evening is the only time of the day he gets some time to study for the exams, so he walks over to the library with Luke beside him, both looking more stressed than interested in the learning material.</p><p>“I’m telling you…”, Luke hisses once he lets one of the heavy books fall on a wooden table between the many bookshelves while receiving a devilish and blaming eye contact from the library lady across the hall. “… once this semester is over, we will enjoy our lives, Archie. The next summer will be awesome, once we get a break from all this mess here”.</p><p>Archie reaches out for one of the books in front of him, opening the first chapter with an exhausted look on his face. “Can’t wait…”.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <strong> 30<em><sup>th</sup> March 2021</em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>Hey Arch, </em></strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>remember the sea monkeys I got you for Christmas? Well Jellybean apparently forgot to feed them for over a week… so the sad news is… they are all pretty much dead. Sorry about that. </em></strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>Can’t wait for your birthday next month! I already saved the way to Annapolis in my route planner… I’m exited to see the Academy for the first time. </em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>And I can’t wait to see you again.</em></strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>Hope everything is well!</em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>Xoxo, Betty</em> </strong>
  </p>
</blockquote><p>
  
</p><p>It seems like no one is more excited about his upcoming birthday than Luke Perez.</p><p>Days go by and even though Archie never planned on doing something special on his birthday, Luke seems to have other plans.</p><p>It’s the end of March and they are working out in the gym, when Luke starts listing all his plans for the 14. April.</p><p>“This is gonna be amazing! There is this great bar called <em>Middleton Tavern</em>, it’s quite dirty in there but I think that shouldn’t be a problem, and- “.</p><p>“Wait a second”, Archie interrupts him while reaching for his water bottle, his whole body sweating like crazy. “It’s my 20. birthday. <em>My <span class="u">20</span>. Luke.</em> I’m not even allowed to drink, and you want to go in a bar?”</p><p>“Relax, Archie… I have connections and I know the Bar owner myself. He won’t say anything when you want to party there”.</p><p>Archie shoots an annoyed look in the blonde guys direction. “You’re crazy, aren’t you?”</p><p>Luke jumps off the exercise machine and grabs his towel from the railing beside him, a grin on his sweaty face. “Well… would life be easier if I wasn’t?”</p><p>With that he walks off to the shower and Archie can’t help but to shake his head, silently admitting that the words of his new friend might be true.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>Three days before his birthday, Betty gets sick.</p><p>It’s the 11. April when he calls to check on her and the first thing he hears is her coughing through the phone.</p><p>“It’s alright”, she says but he can tell by the way her voice sounds much weaker than usual, that that’s a lie. “It’s just a little cold. That will be over tomorrow”.</p><p>But it isn’t over the next day.</p><p>And not the day after that.</p><p>On 14. April, she calls him in the morning, almost crying through the phone. All he can hear is a mixture of “<em>I’m so sorry… the fever got even worse overnight… Happy Birthday, Arch… I’m sorry</em>”.</p><p>“Don’t be sorry”, is all he can say, shutting his eyes while listening to her sobbing voice. “It’s not your fault, Betty”.</p><p>“It is…”, she simply answers while nearly coughing her lungs out of her body. “I was walking through the rain with Jane last week and I should have known better…”.</p><p>He knows by the way her voice breaks that this isn’t just some birthday trick, this is a real flu and all he can do is tell her that everything is alright. “Should I come to New Haven? Do you need anything?”</p><p>“Oh god, no, <em>please don’t</em>”, she answers. “I’m only gonna get you sick as well, and I want you to have fun on your birthday. I mean what about this bar plan you had?”</p><p>He can’t help but to roll his eyes at that. “You mean Luke’s bar plan”.</p><p>“Go with him, Arch. Have fun today…”. She coughs again and it hurts him to hear the pain in her voice.</p><p>“I don’t know, Betty…”.</p><p>“Go”, she answers softly. “We will find another weekend to see each other… sometime when I’m not nearly dying”.</p><p>She tries to fake a laugh which cracks a little smile in the curve of his lips. “I love you”.</p><p>“I love you too, Archie. Now go and have a fantastic day!”</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>The <em>Middleton Tavern </em>is already filled with people when Archie, Luke and three other guys from their class step into the crowded building.</p><p>“That’s what you call a little, quite place?” Archie is pretty sure his question doesn’t even reach Luke’s ears while they step through the crowded room, slowly making their way to the bar.</p><p>“That’s the best place in whole Maryland, dude”.</p><p> <em>Yeah… of course it is. </em></p><p>Luke orders them some drinks that Archie hasn’t even heard of before and he realizes that it would be the best to stop questioning every decision his new friend is making for him.</p><p>“Cheers to you, my red-haired mate!”</p><p>The liquid is burning in his throat and he can feel the alcohol circling in his blood after a few seconds, the lights around him getting brighter with every minute.</p><p>“It’s good, isn’t it?” Luke is laughing and turning around to his friend behind the bar, already ordering some new drinks for him and the rest of the group.</p><p>After that, every hour seems to blend into the next one.</p><p>The laughter in the crowded room gets louder with every minute and Archie realizes that this is the first time in months, he is actually having fun in Maryland without the arching pain of wanting to go back to Riverdale.</p><p>“Here, drink this”.</p><p>“Try this one… won’t regret it”.</p><p>“Another beer, mate?”</p><p>It’s already after midnight when Archie finds himself starring on his phone, his tired eyes hanging on his last conversation with Betty.</p><p>
  <em>Enjoy your Birthday, Arch… I love you.</em>
</p><p>Her soft voice is echoing through his dizzy head and he is about to call her when Luke shoots him an angry look.</p><p>“Dude… we’re here to have fun… you can’t tell me that your girlfriend would want you to sit here like a sad puppy, calling her like you have no other purpose in life”.</p><p>“Shut the fuck up, Luke”. There is a hollowing warning in his voice but as soon as he sees the little curve on his new friends’ lips, he can’t help but join his laughter.</p><p>“You know what you should do?” The blonde guy says, his head turning towards the little stage on the other side of the room. “You should go up there”.</p><p>“Where?” Archie turns his head, following Luke’s gaze. “The stage?”</p><p>“Absolutely”.</p><p>“You’re kidding”.</p><p>“Hell, <em>no</em>”. Luke takes another drink in his hands, a small grin on his face. “Common, Andrews. You told me you like music…”.</p><p>There is a lazy laugh in the back of Archie’s throat. “Well, yeah, but…”.</p><p>“Then I don’t see a problem here”.</p><p>
  <em>Maybe the problem is that I haven’t played guitar in months… or that my only inspiration for music is thousands of miles away.</em>
</p><p>“Then let me ask you something…”, Luke adds beside him. “If your girlfriend would be here… what would she tell you to do?”</p><p>There is a beat of silence in Archie’s ears as his eyes swing through the crowd, back to the small stage. “She would want me to play something”.</p><p>
  <em>I would love to hear some more music sometimes, Arch. </em>
</p><p>He flinches at the thought of her angelic voice and hates the numb feeling of guilt inside him.</p><p>“See? That’s what I’m talking about… live a little… do something stupid for once”.</p><p>Maybe it’s the alcohol in his blood or the fact that he can’t stand to hear Luke’s voice any longer, but Archie makes the decision to follow through with the plan his new best friend just made for him.</p><p>He can hear Luke cheering in the background once he gets up from the uncomfortable seat at the bar and makes his way through the warm and sweaty crowd.</p><p>It’s long past midnight when he reaches the stage, just in time to witness the small group of people on top of it making an announcement through one of the microphones.</p><p>“Alright ladies and gentlemen, it’s karaoke time… who is up next?” The guy speaking has long black hair and is standing behind the keyboard, starring to the crowd through some dirty sunglasses.</p><p>“I would like to sing something”. The confidence in Archie’s voice doesn’t seem to match the hesitancy in his movements as he jumps on the stage.</p><p>Black-long-hair-and-dirty-sunglasses-guy smiles at him in an almost awkward way and Archie is about to change his mind until the other person on the left side of the stage walks towards him, a girl with long brown curls and an amused smile on her lips.</p><p>“Hi”, she simply says, and Archie’s eyes fall to the instrument in her hands, a dark blue bass hanging around her neck. “Can you sing?”</p><p>No one in the room seems to pay attention to the stage expect maybe Luke from the other side of the bar and Archie is more than glad that no one can really see the nervousness in his eyes.</p><p>“Yeah… I uhm… I sing… and I can play guitar”. He plays it cool because <em>hell</em>, a boy from Riverdale isn’t quite as confident in Maryland as he was at home.</p><p>“Guitar?” The girl in front of him switches her small smile to a bigger one and it’s amazing how the joy and excitement reaches her blue eyes within seconds. “Perfect…”. She turns around and reaches for the black guitar case laying on the wooden floor right beside the keyboard.</p><p>“Here…”. She hands him a dark brown guitar and once he holds the instrument in his arms the nervousness seems to fade away almost immediately. “Any song proposals?”</p><p>“Ehm…”. It takes him a few seconds to reply. “What songs are on your schedule for today?”</p><p>She shoots him a look mixed of amusement and also astonishment, probably sensing that this isn’t the first time he is standing on a stage or talking about music in general.</p><p>“Here”. She holds a piece of paper in her hands and he takes a long look at the song names written in a neatly clean handwriting.</p><p>He knows most of the songs – nearly ever single one of them written for performances like this. Simple, easy melodies for people like him or bands like this that play in a pup after midnight.</p><p>“This one?” His answer is a question while he taps on one of the titles and the way the brunette girl laughs while nodding puts a small smile on his lips.</p><p>“Hey Jerry!” She turns around and the guy from the keyboard stares back at them. “Let’s play wonderwall, alright?”</p><p>“Sure”, he answers while flipping his shiny hair over his shoulders. “Can’t say no to a little Oasis, can I?”</p><p>The brunette girl nudges Archie to the side, showing him the music stand with the lyrics and notes. “You got this?”, she asks, and he simply nods before he can change his mind.</p><p>“Sure”.</p><p>“Alright… then let’s make some music”.</p><p><em>It’s frightening to be back on stage… but also strangely calming to have a guitar in your arms;</em> Archie thinks while the first few tones swing through the stuffy air.</p><p>His heart skips a beat once he sings the first few words into the microphone and his head automatically shoots to his left to the girl beside him. She answers his unspoken question with a smile and nods as reassurance, mouthing <em>you’re doing good</em> while playing the bass like she never did anything else in her life.</p><p>The people in the pup don’t even look at them, every group only facing each other, no one really even recognizing that there is a band playing live music behind them… but Archie doesn’t even care.</p><p>He smiles into the microphone, meets Luke’s eyes on the other side of the room, watches how his blond friend stretches his thumb high in the air to show him his support.</p><p>
  <em>“And all the roads we have to walk are winding<br/>And all the lights that lead us there are blinding<br/>There are many things that I<br/>Would like to say to you but I don't know how”</em>
</p><p>Archie’s mind goes back to the days he played music on the Riverdale High, back to a much simpler time. Back then everything was way easier and the burden of doing good in college wasn’t on his shoulders all the time.</p><p>
  <em>“Today was gonna be the day<br/>But they'll never throw it back to you<br/>By now you should've somehow<br/>Realized what you're not to do<br/>I don't believe that anybody<br/>Feels the way I do, about you now”</em>
</p><p>He remembers him and Betty singing the Origin of Love in his garage… the place and time they finally found their way back to each other. Music was the one thing that finally made them realize who they belong to and the memory of that night circles through Archie’s head like a hummingbird.</p><p>Leaving Riverdale and leaving Betty hasn’t been easy this last year… he always knew that living a life without her by his side would be hard… but he never thought that it would be <em>this</em> hard.</p><p>Maryland is fun, Maryland is great.</p><p>But he can’t help but to wonder if his time here will be nothing more but an echo of his past.</p><p><em>Live a little… do something stupid for once.</em> He knows damn well what Luke meant with these words.</p><p>Because Archie doesn’t live in Maryland… he only survives in Maryland. And that isn’t the point of your college years. He should have fun, he should enjoy his life… and constantly missing something from your past or only waiting for a moment where you can go back isn’t healthy.</p><p><em>Maybe that’s it</em>; a small voice whispers in Archie’s head as he sings into the microphone, his warm voice echoing through the room. <em>Music might be the key to finally feel free again. To feel like myself… to feel something different than homesickness, nostalgia, longing, pain or simply boredom. </em></p><p>
  <em>Music could lead me back to the person I was before… the person that enjoyed every day. </em>
</p><p>So, he hums into the microphone, closes his eyes for a few seconds to feel nothing but the rousing feeling of getting carried away from the music.</p><p>
  <em>“I said maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me<br/>And after all, you're my wonderwall.”</em>
</p><p>He opens his eyes once the song is finished and the first face he sees is Luke’s from a few meters away, smiling at him like a proud brother.</p><p>There is a little applause here and there but nothing significant… no one really cares for music here… but to Archie, it is everything.</p><p>When he turns around to put the guitar back into the case, he meets the impressed look on Jerry’s face and the wide smile from the brunette bass girl.</p><p>“You’re actually pretty good at this”, the girl states while he lays the guitar back to the ground.</p><p>“Thank you… I had some practice when I was younger… but that was ages ago”, he simply answers.</p><p>“You’re Archie, right?”, she suddenly says, and this question forces him to really look at her.</p><p>“You know me?”</p><p>“Yeah… we are in the same year at the Academy”. There is a smile in the curve of her lips while he tries to figure out how he hasn’t seen her before on the Naval Area.</p><p>“You’re in the Naval Academy?” He didn’t mean to sound so perplexed but gladly she doesn’t seem to care.</p><p>She rolls her blue eyes while tapping her fingertips on the bass in her arms. “Yes, in class C4 to be correct. I know who you are because I was there when you guys played football this one time in October. You were pretty good, and everyone was talking about this Archie Andrews guy from this weird little town…”. She seems to remember the name by the way her eyes stare into the air.</p><p>“Riverdale”, he cuts in with a little laugh. “But hey, great to know that people are talking behind my back about me”.</p><p>“Well, it’s not that bad when they are talking about something positive, right?”, she simply adds while pulling the strap of the bass over her head, laying the instrument on one of the chairs on the side of the small stage. “I’m Sarah, by the way… and this is Jerry”.</p><p>The keyboard guy waves at him in a lazy way while pulling of a crocked smile.</p><p>“It was great to play with you, Archie”, she adds while walking over the small stage in direct movements, searching all the notes and lyrics to bundle them up in her hands. “We’re performing here every Friday… you can join us again some time, if you want to”.</p><p>Sarah isn’t even looking at him while she speaks so he turns his head to Jerry who is only nodding as an approval to her words. “Yeah… you’re not bad, dude”.</p><p>He can’t help but to silently laugh at these words. “Thank you… but with all the exams coming up and the training sessions… I don’t really know if I can make time for…”.</p><p>“Hey, it’s totally up to you”. Sarah turns back to him, all the papers now folded between her red painted fingernails.</p><p>“I know that the Academy can be quite stressful sometimes”. It’s the first time in their conversation that Archie realizes how young she actually is while he stares down to her, watching how her expression darkens by the thought of the college work she has to do. She seems to be around the same age as Archie, even thought her black dress makes her look older and her long hair and bright blue eyes make her seem younger at the same time.</p><p>“Thank you… for letting me sing tonight”, Archie adds before the conversation can turn into a complaint round about the University.</p><p>“No problem”, Sarah simply answers, a grin appearing on her face while she looks up to him. “Guess I’ll see you around… Mr. I’m-so-perfect-in-football-and-music-so-I’m-perfect-in-basically-everything”.</p><p>He flinches at her answer, a pained but funny look on his face. “That’s what they called me?”</p><p>She laughs while stuffing the papers into something that looks like an old backpack. “Maybe…”.</p><p>“Great”. He waves at Jerry for one last time and nods in Sarah’s direction while he leaves the stage. “Bye guys”.</p><p>“Goodbye Riverdale-guy”.</p><p> </p><p>He can already see the smirk on Luke’s face while walking back through the crowd and can only roll his eyes once he sits down on the empty seat next to him.</p><p>“And… you had fun?”, the blonde guy asks, not even trying to hide the smug sound in his voice.</p><p>“It was alright”.</p><p>“Well, it looked more than <em>alright</em> to me, but okay”, Luke answers with clapping on Archie’s back. “Told you it would be a good idea… haven seen you this alive since July last year”.</p><p>“Yeah”, he answers while his thoughts return to the last summer, memories of warm days, crystal-clear lakes in the forest and the taste of beer and Betty’s cherry lipstick on his tongue dancing in the back of his mind. “Last July was quite special”.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>This is the first time in months when he returns to the dorm room in a good mood. He laughs loudly on his way back to the Academy with Luke as he tells him some weird stories from his hometown and nothing but the breathless joy of finally feeling something positive again after months of loneliness and denial pulsates through his body.</p><p>That’s the first time he tells Luke about the horror stories of Riverdale.</p><p>He tells him about the murder of Jason Blossom. He talks about the Black Hood and how there was a time he got locked up in prison for a murder he never committed.</p><p>“There was a time the whole town played a children game called <em>Griffins and Gargoyles</em>… the people went crazy, Luke… it’s hard to believe but people actually killed each other because of this silly game”.</p><p>“That sounds… crazy”.</p><p>They walk over the Academy areal and Archie stares up to the cloudy sky, a breathless laugh on his lips. “It does… and last year, someone made video tapes of the citizens… and it turned out that it was a teacher at my school… Betty told me about it the last time I saw her… her brother works at the FBI, you know… they arrested Mr. Honey a few weeks after graduation”.</p><p>He can feel Luke’s eyes on him when they reach the dorm and walk through the dark corridors. “That sounds so fucked up, man”.</p><p>“Yeah it does…”.</p><p>They finally reach their room and he throws his keys to the small table in the middle. “And you want to know the weirdest part of it all?” Archie turns around and is letting himself fall on his bed. “It’s weird because those things don’t scare me anymore”.</p><p>He stares at the ceiling, slowly realizing that his own words contain a truth that has been inside him for a while now.</p><p>“All those fucked up things that happened in Riverdale… there are over now. They feel… distant, you know? Like they can’t reach me anymore”.</p><p>“Maybe because you finally started to let the past go”, Luke adds from the other side of the room. “I mean… we’ve been in Maryland for almost a year now, Archie. Your life is here now… maybe this is the right time to finally stop living in memories”.</p><p>There is a beat of silence around them for a moment until Archie turns his head and reaches for his phone, the alcohol in his blood making his head a little dizzier than he wants to admit.</p><p>“Maybe you’re right, Luke”, he mumbles while unlocking the screen. “It’s time to let the bad things go… but I’m sure as hell gonna hold on to the good things I left behind…”.</p><p>So, he opens his mails and starts to write a message like he did hundreds of times before.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>14<sup>th</sup> April 2021</em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>Betty, </em></strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>I hope you’re alright and you’re getting better. It’s pretty late and I don’t want to wake you, so I figured I’d just write a text. Please don’t be sorry that you couldn’t make it to Maryland today – it’s not your fault and you know that. </em></strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>You won’t believe it but I was on a stage tonight… I sang and I played guitar and… somehow I’m feeling great today. Idk how to explain it but… you’re probably the only person on this planet that seems to understand all the weird, messed up things I’m saying sometimes.</em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>I guess… I guess I’m writing you because I miss you. Or because I’m pretty drunk right now… </em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>Just wanted to let you know that I love you, Betts. </em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>I’ll see you soon… I promise.</em></strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>Archie</em> </strong>
  </p>
</blockquote><p> </p><p>He hits send while looking at her profile picture, her pretty smile rotating in front of his dizzy gaze.</p><p>Whatever happened in Riverdale… all the bad memories won’t ever be able to compete to the rush he get’s whenever he things about the girl next door.</p><p>Betty will always be there… even when it’s just in the back of his head, or in the lyrics that he writes or in the songs that he sings.</p><p><em>I will let the past go now</em>; he thinks while drifting off to sleep, letting himself go as he falls back into complete darkness. <em>But I will never let go of her…</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I‘m truly sorry that it took this long for a new chapter! The last month was very hectic and stressful and I never really found time to write... </p><p>I really hope you guys liked this chapter!<br/>It would mean a lot to me if you could leave some feedback ❤️</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. If I had one wish, I’d wish you here</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>
    
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>“To out highest hopes and deepest fears,</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>If I had one wish, I’d wish you here</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>The tantrums and the horror shows,</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>The stories only you would know.”</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>• Lang Leav</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>“I hate the winter”.</p><p>Janes voices echoes through the small bedroom and Betty looks up from her notebook, leaning back in her seat at the wooden table while starring out of the frozen window in front of her, blue eyes following the snowflakes on their way to the ground.</p><p>“Hmm… I think it looks pretty”, she mumbles while snuggling into her pink sweater, her tired eyes falling back to the book in front of her. “Definitely prettier than math…”.</p><p>It’s a snowy February afternoon in New Haven and a quiet day right before weeks filled with exams. Jane is laying on her bed, dressed in her beige pajamas, covered under thousands of blankets.</p><p>“It’s too cold… summer is way better”, she adds and Betty only nods to her muffled words, her fingertips tapping on the pages in front of her.</p><p>“Yeah… summer is something special”.</p><p>
  <em>Summer means holidays.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Summer means Riverdale.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Summer means short dresses and sunglasses, milkshakes at POP’s and swimming in the lake.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Summer means Archie Andrews and his tanned skin against her body, the taste of strawberry and vanilla shakes combined. </em>
</p><p>It’s been two months since she has last seen Archie and thinking back to the Christmas holidays makes Bettys heart ache for something that seems to slip out of her hands only seconds after she gets it back.</p><p>
  <em>Riverdale feels like home… but also like a lifetime ago. </em>
</p><p>She tries her best to keep in contact with everyone, tries to text Kevin and Veronica at least once a week and even calls her mother every two days.</p><p>And yet it feels different trying to stay in contact with Archie. It’s easier and harder at the same time.</p><p>The point is, Archie doesn’t feel as out of reach like the others do. Betty knows that he is always just one phone call or text message away, always there on the other side of phone. But at the same time his absence is affecting her the most, making her feel their distance much more than the separation to her other friends or family.</p><p>“It’s because you guys grew up with each other”, Kevin once said to her a few weeks ago over the phone. “He was always on the other side of the window, you know. It’s just normal that you feel a little lost without him by your side”.</p><p>She never planned to – but when Veronica asked her about the current situation with Archie, she couldn’t help but telling the truth.</p><p>“I just miss him so much, V. It hasn’t even been a year… and I’m acting like a child about it”.</p><p>“No, you don’t”, Veronica’s low but sweet voice was also something that Betty missed since she left Riverdale. “You know what they say, right? Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Hold on to that, alright? Everything will be okay”.</p><p>So, Betty tried to follow Veronicas command by missing Archie in an almost silent way, trying to ignore the aching in her chest whenever she thought about him.</p><p>Luckily schoolwork helped a lot and became a good distraction, just like Jane became a better and better friend over several weeks.</p><p>Sharing a dorm room brings you close together sooner or later and they both found out very quick that they actually have a lot in common.</p><p>“I miss Oliver”, Jane whispers into her blanket.</p><p>“And I miss Archie”, Betty answers with an empty voice.</p><p>“I hate snow”, the brunette girl sights.</p><p>“And I… hate math”. They both laugh at that, the echoing sound of their voices flying through the air, caring them from day to day.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>March begins with the blooming of the first snowbells and everyone instantly seems to be in a better mood the second the first warm sunrays break through the grey clouds, representing the first step to the upcoming months of spring.</p><p>Betty has already spent more than half a year at Yale… 7 months of studying… 7 months of missing her old life… and 7 months of socially distancing herself from everyone in her class except from Jane.</p><p>It’s not like the people didn’t seem nice… but Betty kind of spent the entire autumn last year trying to handle the new living situation and trying to keep all her old friendships and relationships maintained that she sort of missed the whole people-getting-to-know-each-other-part in her classes.</p><p>Sure, there were a lot of people she talked to on a daily basis… mostly the ones that sat beside her during lectures. But none of these people could be counted as her friends.</p><p>“Jane… Can you help me with this?”</p><p>It’s the morning of the 23th March 2021 and the two roommates are sitting at one of the wooden tables on the university campus in front of the Sterling Library, wrapped in several jackets and scarfs to stay warm. The whole place is filled with people, students from different classes sitting on blankets in the fresh morning air, faces lifted to the mild sunlight.</p><p>Betty reaches her brunette friend the book in her hands, tapping on the relevant topic.</p><p>“God Betty… you know I can’t help you with that…”. A helpless and partly frustrated sight comes over Jane’s lips as she hands the book back to Betty. “Why don’t you ask someone else? Maybe someone who is actually in the same math lecture as you are”.</p><p>Math is one of the few classes Jane and Betty don’t share with each other and ironically is the hardest one to study... at least for Betty.</p><p>“Go and ask Evan…”. Jane looks back down to her own law-book while pushing her big, dark glasses up her nose.</p><p>“Evan? Evan Campbell?... You can’t be serious”. The mocking tone of Betty’s voice matches her cold gaze as she stares over the grass area around them, directly looking at a group of people sitting about 20 feet away from them. Four girls dressed in squared skirts and five guys in white shirts, all of them looking way to overdressed for this uneventful Tuesday morning.</p><p>Jane seems totally unbothered by Betty’s hesitant reaction. “Yeah, why not? Isn’t he like… a genius who knows everything?”</p><p>“That’s the problem, Jane”, Betty immediately responses in the exact second her gaze catches the sight of Evan Campbell in the middle of the group, sitting on the desk with headphones in his ears, obviously nodding in sync to the music he’s hearing on his phone. “You haven’t seen him in math… he is arrogant… and a total know-it-all and that sucks. He just knows everything”.</p><p>Janes eyes are still on the book while she speaks. “Isn’t that the point? He knows everything… so go and ask him if he can teach you this stupid math topic”.</p><p>“But… he is like the worst nerd ever”.</p><p>That’s the first time Jane looks back up to Betty. “Remember when you called me a nerd at the beginning of the semester?”</p><p>“Yeah, but you’re that kind of loveably, dorky kind of nerd… and he’s this I-know-everything-and-that-makes-me-so-much-cooler-than-you nerd”.</p><p>There is a beat of silence between the two girls after that, right before both of them burst into laughter.</p><p>“You’re a freak”, Jane simply says with a smile on her face. “But for real Betty… someone who can solve murders and can fight some weird gargilo king- “</p><p>“-<em>Gargoyle king</em>, Jane”.</p><p>“Whatever… someone that is as tough as you should be able to ask someone for help… even though you can’t stand him”.</p><p>And even though Betty doesn’t like it… Jane is right. A few seconds go by while Betty just stares at the book in front of her until she sights and stands up. “I hate you”.</p><p>“Hm… not as much as you hate math”, is Jane’s simply response while Betty grabs the book from the table and starts to make her way over the grass through the talking and reading group of people.</p><p><em>Not as much as I hate people like him</em>; she adds in her mind as she walks towards the table with all the perfectly-dressed students, her eyes hanging on the lowered head of Evan Campbell and for a second she wants to laugh about the way the sun is reflecting on his dark hair.</p><p>At first no one really seems to notice her… maybe because she never really talked to any of them… maybe because she got labeled as the quite Riverdale girl within about two weeks after her arrival. But the second she stops right in front of the table all eyes are on her and she hates it to be the one under observation.</p><p>“Hey Evan”, she says with the math-book pressed to her chest and the icy march-wind meandering its way through her blue cardigan. He doesn’t seem to hear her words cause his eyes are still pinned to the screen of his phone, which makes her step a bit closer so he can see her shadow on the grass in front of him. “Evan?”</p><p>The way his dark eyes seem to widen a little bit the second he looks up and sees her gives away that he is quite surprised at the sight of her standing in front of him.</p><p>He rips the headphones from his head while a curious look starts to cover his face. “Betty, right? Betty… Cooper?”</p><p>She fights a smile on her face. “Yes. Ehm…”. The words on her tongue seem to disappear while she realizes once again that thinking something in your head and saying something out lout are two very different things.</p><p>He just looks up to her and she swears that he is able to see the chaos inside her head for a second. God how embarrassing.</p><p>“Could you help me with math… maybe?”, she finally chokes out and she just hopes that he can’t hear the sound of disapproval in her voice. “There is this one topic that is just… very difficult… and I don’t know who else I could ask”.</p><p>The moment the words leave her mouth she realizes how bad that actually sounds and he seems to notice it as well, judging the way an arrogant smile appears on his face.</p><p>“So, you need help at math?”, he asks slightly amused.</p><p>“…yes”.</p><p>“And… you’re asking <em>me</em> because…?” There is a smirk on his face that matches the prejudices Betty pictured in her mind every time this guy opened his petty mouth in class to proclaim full of pride that he knows the perfect answer to the professor’s question.</p><p>“You know what? Never mind”. She places her best fake smile on her face while turning around to storm away from him and his unpleasant company of snobs. Jerk.</p><p>“Hey… Betty, wait”. A few seconds after that he is walking beside her and a part of her is glad that he is actually trying to help her. Math is one of the important lectures this semester and she worked way too hard for a good degree to let one stupid subsidiary subject ruin her grade point average.</p><p>She stops walking and he does the same, his eyes on the book in her hands. “Chapter six, I guess? Math 112, right?”</p><p>Her answer is a simple nod while she tries her best to swallow her pride and tries to be thankful for his attempt to help her. “Yeah… the beginning was so simple with all these key geometric concepts in distance and area or the part with the right triangle perspectives… but now they added this mathematically-oriented applications rubbish and… and I’m gonna be honest… it sucks”.</p><p>“Hmm… not everyone can rock math like a master”, he agrees with way too much arrogance and for a second Betty is actually considering slapping him in the face.</p><p><em>“Rock” math</em>; she thinks. <em>How stupid does that even sound?</em></p><p>A sight comes over her lips and she stares up to the sky for a few seconds. “So? You’re gonna help me or not?”</p><p>“I will”, he answers in a casual way. “Can’t let the small-town girl with the ponytail fail math, can I?”</p><p>She doesn’t even have time to answer to that because he is already turning around, his eyes back on the screen of the phone in his hands. “At 3 in the library?”</p><p><em>What a snob.</em> “Sure”.</p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p><br/> <br/>Studying with Evan Campbell is exhausting. Partly because math seems to be something that just doesn’t want to get into Betty’s head and partly because her charming company seems to never miss an opportunity to remind her how easy all of this actually is.<br/> <br/>“I just don’t get it”, she sights with her head on the library table, eyes closed and the aroma of old books surrounding her in a slightly comforting way.<br/> <br/>“Well, I don’t get it as well”, Evan simply replies while leaning back on his wooden chair on the other side of the table, arms crossed and his brown eyes on the tired girl in front of him.<br/> <br/>“You don’t get math?”, Betty asks as she lifts her head and stares back at him, the disbelieve swinging in her voice through the sparsely occupied hall.<br/> <br/>They have been sitting here for at least two hours, working through the current math topics while discussing nearly every single case study and it’s kind of frustrating that they didn’t even reach the second chapter of the current problem.<br/> <br/>Evan runs his hands through his dark hair with the hint of a smirk in the corner of his mouth. “No… I don’t get why you are so bad at math… you don’t seem like this kind of girl”.<br/> <br/>She looks up from the book in front of her and meets his eyes with an angered gaze. “What the hell do you mean with that?”<br/> <br/>“Well…”. His eyes are on her ponytail while he flicks the pen in his hands in a painfully annoying way. “You look like someone that seems to be good at school stuff, you know? All this… well organized notebooks… or your strict clothes… the ponytail.”<br/> <br/>She just stares at him for a few seconds before answering. „You do that every time?“<br/> <br/>„What?“ <br/> <br/>„Judging people by their appearance?“ The words almost leave her mouth mixed with an ironic laughter because everything about this seems bizarre. She is sitting in front of a guy that appears to be the biggest nerd of them all with the loose tie around his neat white shirt or his perfectly styled dark hair paired with his unfortunately comely face. If someone would ask the girls in their lectures to describe Evan Campbell they would probably say he is the perfect mixture of hot and nerdy… and even though he doesn’t appear to be the popular guy he has made a impressive name for himself. Everything about Evan Campbell screams the word perfect and Betty starts to wonder if people thought the same about her a few years ago. </p><p>Memories cross her mind, moments that haunted her for years suddenly brought to the surface.</p><p>
  <em>You are so perfect. I’ll never be good enough for you.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>You are a cheerleader for god’s sake… you are the perfect girl next door.</em>
</p><p>Evan doesn’t seem to notice that her mind went somewhere else for a few seconds and when she look at him the small smile on his face seems to fade a little bit by her words. „I don’t judge people by their looks Betty, I judge them by their actions and behavior“. <br/> <br/>„And that’s the reason you don’t like me?“ Her question seems to catch him off guard. „That’s the reason you talk to me like I’m dumb?“ <br/> <br/>„I don’t-„<br/> <br/>„Yes, you do“, she interrupts him before he can even defend himself. „I never did anything to anger you, did I? I never even spoke to you in the first place“. <br/> <br/>Her anger seems to amuse him judging by the way his eyebrows shoot in the air while a new smile breaks over his face. „That’s my point. You barely spoke to anyone during the first semester… I’m not gonna lie but that made it seem like you were too good for anyone else here. Like you were the most arrogant person on this campus… and now, out of the blue, you want help with something as easy as math… so sorry that I’m a little confused by this“.<br/> <br/>Maybe it’s the fact that she hasn’t been in the best place for a few weeks now or that she feels like slowly going crazy with all the studying and exams that makes the anger in her veins boil like crazy. </p><p>„You ever thought about the possibility that it’s not so easy to speak to people like you? People that seem to know everything…“.</p><p>„I don’t know everything“, he interrupts. </p><p>„You certainly knew enough to label me as an arrogant person“. With these words she stands up while grabbing the book in front of her. „I’m done with this… thank you for helping me Evan“. The sarcasm in her words seems to cut the air like knives and even though the smile on his face is vanished there is still a hint of amuse on the brunette guys face. </p><p>„Betty…“. </p><p>„Cut it off“, she says while she swings her bag over her shoulder.</p><p>„Don’t forget your pen…“, he adds and she glares down to him, watches how he reaches forward to grab the little pen from the desk. </p><p>So she grabs the writing utensil out of his hand while glaring down at him one last time. </p><p>Maybe not talking to anyone the last months here at Yale was the right choice after all; she thinks while turning around. Maybe they are all such arrogant asses like him.</p><p>“Good luck at the math exam next week!”, he calls after her as she storms out of the room and she hates how his silent giggle is following her through the empty hallways.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>The days pass by in a tenacious and slow speed and even though the studying seems to kill Betty from day to day, there is one particular thing that keeps her head up all through the way of march.</p><p><strong>          30</strong> <strong> <em> <sup>th</sup> </em> </strong> <strong> <em> March 2021</em> </strong></p><p> </p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <strong> <em> Hey Arch,</em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>remember the sea monkeys I got you for Christmas? Well Jellybean apparently forgot to feed them for over a week… so the sad news is… they are all pretty much dead. Sorry about that.</em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>Can’t wait for your birthday next month! I already saved the way to Annapolis in my route planner… I’m excited to see the Academy for the first time.</em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>And I can’t wait to see you again.</em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>Hope everything is well!</em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>Xoxo, Betty</em> </strong>
  </p>
</blockquote><p>She smiles while hitting send and a part of her wants to pull out the bags from under her bed, throw every piece of clothes she owns into them and just drive off to Maryland.</p><p><em>Two weeks</em>; she thinks while starring out the window of her dorm room, watching the heavy rain falling from the dark grey sky above New Haven. <em>Two weeks until I’ll see you again.</em></p><p>“Betty hurry up… five minutes until Mrs. Roberts lecture starts”. Jane’s voice comes from the opened dorm door and she spins around while pointing at the window behind her.</p><p>“It’s pouring out there, Jane… I can’t even find my umbrella and you want to reach the other side of the campus in time?”</p><p>The brunette girl just rolls her eyes. “Common… it’s just rain… how bad can it be?”</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>“I told you it was a bad idea to run through the rain”.</p><p>Betty’s hoarse voice is barely a whisper while she is laying on her bed buried under two blankets, tired eyes watching her roommate at the other side of the room. It’s the evening of the 11<sup>th</sup> April and she has already been through a self-treatment by drinking two filled teapots of peppermint tea and taken several painkillers to mitigate the leaching symptoms of her persistent cold.</p><p>“I didn’t think your immune system would be this weak…”, Jane answers with a lot of compassion swinging in her words. “I’m so sorry Betty… but hey, you still have three days left, right? Maybe you’ll get better!”</p><p>
  <em>Three days until her trip to Maryland.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Three days until she can see Archie again.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Three days until his birthday.</em>
</p><p>“Yeah…”, she agrees while closing her eyes, the image of the red-haired boy with warm brown eyes appearing in her head while another coughing attack twitches through her body. “Maybe it will get better”.</p><p>
  <em>But it doesn’t.</em>
</p><p>She calls Archie the next day, telling him that everything will be fine until the weekend, but she knows by the way he listens to her coughing through the phone that the chances for them to see each other in a couple of days are shrinking with every second that passes by.</p><p>They speak to each other again the following day and even though Betty slept at least 20 hours and stayed in bed most of the time nothing seemed to change for the better.</p><p>On 14th April, she calls him in the morning, almost crying through the phone while sitting on her bed with her head leaning against the cold stonewall behind her. “<em>I’m so sorry… the fever got even worse overnight… Happy Birthday, Arch… I’m sorry</em>”.</p><p>“Don’t be sorry”, she sobs at the sound of his warm voice. “It’s not your fault, Betty”.</p><p>“It is…”, she simply answers while nearly coughing her lungs out of her body. “I was walking through the rain with Jane last week and I should have known better…”.</p><p>“Should I come to New Haven? Do you need anything?”</p><p>“Oh god, no, <em>please don’t</em>”, she answers. “I’m only gonna get you sick as well, and I want you to have fun on your birthday. I mean what about this bar plan you had?”</p><p>He can’t help but to roll his eyes at that. “You mean Luke’s bar plan”.</p><p>“Go with him, Arch. Have fun today…”. She coughs again and it hurts him to hear the pain in her voice.</p><p>“I don’t know, Betty…”.</p><p>“Go”, she answers softly. “We will find another weekend to see each other… sometime when I’m not nearly dying”.</p><p>She tries to fake a laugh and it’s almost painful to hear him say the following words. “I love you”.</p><p>“I love you too, Archie. Now go and have a fantastic day!”</p><p>The second he ends the call she closes her eyes, heated tears running over her feverish cheeks.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe I should stay here with you”, Jane says a few hours later while standing on her side of the room, her eyes drifting between her packed bags and Betty’s bed.</p><p>It is sometime in the afternoon and at this point Betty is just laying on her bed in an almost near dead state, loose hair strands stuck to her forehead, her throat sore and her body haunted by chills every few minutes. “No… <em>no, Jane</em>. Go home, you waited <em>so long</em> for this weekend… please go and have fun, I’m gonna be alright”.</p><p>“But I can’t leave you like this, Betty…”. There is real concern in Janes eyes as she is slowly grabbing her bag from the floor beside her. “You look like you’re about to pass the bridge to the afterlife any second”.</p><p>“Please go…”. Betty tries her best to sound as strong as possible, even though her voice seems to tremble by every word. “If I were you… I would go. I would go home… and I would want to see my boyfriend”.</p><p>She knows how much Jane had missed Oliver these last few months… maybe because she knows how bad it hurts to miss Archie.</p><p>Her last sentence seems to convince Jane and there is a spark of joy in her eyes the moment she thinks about the upcoming reunion with her boyfriend.</p><p>“Alright…”. With one fast movement the bag is on Janes back and she grabs the keys of her car from the table in the middle of the room. “But I’ll call you to check on you… and… please don’t die while I’m gone, okay?”</p><p>“I promise”.</p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>Hours pass by while Betty’s condition could be described as a fine line between sleep and hallucination. Time seems to be something undefinable for the blonde girl and she seems to drift off to sleep every time she closes her eyes, the world spinning around her while the fever medicine ceases to work.</p><p>The next time she opens her eyes the room is pitch black due to the darkness outside and she coughs as soon as her awareness seems to return to her.</p><p>
  <em>“Betty?”</em>
</p><p>At first, she thinks she is just hallucinating like she did all these hours before and it’s just her mind playing games with her. But then she hears it again… a dull voice calling her name.</p><p>It takes her a solid minute to realize that the sound is coming from the room door and she wants to sit up and shout that whoever it is should leave… but all she can manage is a weak <em>“What?”</em> in an partly annoyed and partly dazed tone.</p><p>The voice seems to mumble something on the other side of the wall and suddenly the door gets opened and the bright and blinding light from the hallway makes its way into the dark room. She flinches and closes her eyes while someone is entering the room and she tries to listen to the sounds even though there is an ongoing rustle in her ears.</p><p>“<em>God, you look awful</em>”.</p><p>The realization that she knows this voice damn well is forcing Betty to open her eyes and she blinks up to the silhouette of Evan Campbell.</p><p>“What the hell are you doing here?” She tries everything in her power to sound normal, but her voice breaks in the middle of the sentence as the world seems to spin around her once again.</p><p>“Relax, I’m not here to teach you more math…”, he says with a muffled voice. “I’m here because your friend called me… wants me to check on you. Apparently, you have your phone muted and she is going crazy because she can’t reach you”.</p><p>Her thoughts are circling in Betty’s mind as she tries desperately to act healthy. “Jane?”</p><p>“Yes, Jane”, he answers like it is the most obvious thing in the world while he stares at her pale face and her tousled hair. “You’re really sick, aren’t you?”</p><p><em>What kind of question even is this</em>; she curses in her mind as a new coughing attack jerks through her body.</p><p>“<em>Jesus</em>…”. And suddenly his hand is on her forehead and she can hear him mumble something under his breath before he leaves towards the small bathroom.</p><p>Her eyes fall shut as she sinks into the mattress and a few seconds later he returns with a cold cloth in his hands. She hisses at him as he lays the cool fabric down on her head before she realizes how good it actually feels.</p><p>“You can thank me later”, he simply mumbles while disappearing once again, only to return a few seconds later with a glass of water in his hands. “Here… drink”.</p><p>That’s the moment she finally decides to pause the battle she is fighting against him and allows him to help her up into a sitting position. “Take these”. He hands her two pills and she just stares at them for a moment while grabbing the cold glass of water.</p><p>“What…?”, she breaths out without any strength left in her whole body.</p><p>“Fever tablets”, he answers her unasked question and because she just keeps looking at his opened hand a while longer, he adds: “Common… I won’t poison you just because you’re a pain in the ass”.</p><p>So she takes the pills and drinks the whole glass of water before she sinks back into the mattress, eyes closed while her whole body seems to burn alive. “What… time is it?”</p><p>He seems to understand her even though her voice is barely a whisper. “Three in the morning”.</p><p>“Hmm”. His words don’t even reach her anymore.</p><p>“Unmute your phone, Betty”. Evans voice pulls her back before she can drift off to sleep once again and she mumbles; “…on the desk”.</p><p>He seems to understand because she can hear his steps in the semi-dark room and suddenly, he is standing beside her bed once again and she opens her eyes as he is handing her over the phone in his hands.</p><p>“Three thousand missed calls from Jane McKenzie”, he says and even thought it’s dark and her head feels dizzier than ever before she is sure there is a little laugh in the back of his throat. “And a Mail-Notification from Archie Andrews”. </p><p>Her heart skips a beat as she clings her fingers around her phone as tight as her current state allows her even though she wants to yell at him for looking at her notifications.</p><p>“Sleep”, he says while she realizes that she isn’t even able to cough out one word.  “That will help… and you need to drink more… I left a bottle of water right beside your bed, alright?” He points at the floor beside him and in her mind, she wants to nod but she is pretty sure that in real life she isn’t even doing this anymore.</p><p>“And next time Jane calls…”, he adds while walking back to the door. “… answer her, okay?”</p><p><em>Fuck you</em>; she wants to yell after him because who the hell does he think he is that he can blame her in her current condition.</p><p>He leaves the room and closes the door before she can say anything and from one second to another she is wrapped into total darkness once again.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>It’s already noon when Betty wakes up the next day and even though her body still feels like it got hit by a car… her head feels much clearer now.</p><p>The sky is clouded today which colors the room in a grey light while minute by minute the memories of last night come back to her and the first thing she does is stare at the water bottle beside her bed as some sort of proof that the scene in her head actually happened.</p><p>“Fuck”, she mumbles as she reaches for her phone that is laying beside her on the mattress and the second she reads the Mail-Notification from Archie she realizes that she wasn’t even able to read it last night.</p><p><strong><em>      15</em> </strong> <strong> <em> <sup>th</sup> </em> </strong> <strong> <em> April 2021</em> </strong></p><p> </p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>Betty,</em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>I hope you’re alright and you’re getting better. It’s pretty late and I don’t want to wake you, so I figured I’d just write a text. Please don’t be sorry that you couldn’t make it to Maryland today – it’s not your fault and you know that.</em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>You won’t believe it but I was on a stage tonight… I sang and I played guitar and… somehow I’m feeling great today. Idk how to explain it but… you’re probably the only person on this planet that seems to understand all the weird, messed up things I’m saying sometimes.</em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>I guess… I guess I’m writing you because I miss you. Or because I’m pretty drunk right now…</em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>Just wanted to let you know that I love you, Betts.</em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>I’ll see you soon… I promise.</em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>Archie</em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p> </p>
</blockquote><p>And even though the trip to Maryland was something Betty had looked forward to the last few weeks and she was more than sad that this flu crossed her plans of visiting Archie this weekend… she still feels absolute joy finding out that he had a great night after all.</p><p>She decides to answer him via text because her vocal cords still feel like a hacksaw.</p><p>
  <strong><em>          I’m happy that you’re happy, Arch!!</em> </strong>
</p><p> </p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>Can’t wait to hear you play guitar in person soon… and I hope your hangover isn’t bad today…</em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>I’ll call you later when my voice get’s a bit better… the fever got better overnight.</em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong> <em>Love you!</em> </strong>
  </p>
  <p> </p>
</blockquote><p>She hits send and smiles at her phone before grabbing the water bottle from the floor and letting the water run down her sore throat.</p><p>Maryland won’t disappear in near future… that’s the only thought that gets Betty through the day.</p><p>
  <em>As soon as I’m healthy again, I’ll see you Arch… even though the luck doesn’t seem to be on our side.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>Jane returns to New Haven one week later and Betty is still a little bit sick.</p><p>“I can’t believe you called Evan Campbell and told him to check on me”, is the first thing she throws her roommate in the face the second Jane walks through the room door with her bag over her shoulder.</p><p>“Well, you had your phone muted and I wasn’t sure if you were dead so…”.</p><p>“So I would have rather died than have this arrogant guy walk in this room in the middle of the night and get a wet towel thrown in my face”.</p><p>Jane lets the bag fall to the floor while a laugh comes over his lips. “Oh… sounds like you two are finally friends, huh?”</p><p>“I haven’t spoken to him since that night”. Betty’s answer comes a bit too late to sound as witty as the sentences before.</p><p>Jane just looks at her, a simple smile still stuck in the corner of her mouth. “Why not?”</p><p>
  <em>Why not?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Because I still can’t stand him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Because I hate that he saw me in this bad condition.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And because I hate even more that he was actually kind of nice to me in that night.</em>
</p><p>“There hasn’t been an opportunity so far… but why did you call <em>him</em>? Why not anyone else?"</p><p>Jane shoots her a look while a smile curls up in the corner of her mouth. "And who exactly? Listen Betty, he was the only one you spoke to this last month and also the only person who picked up the phone when I called…".</p><p>She searches for the right words to say but ends up with an simple "Okay".</p><p>“So... what about Archie? What are your new plans for Maryland?”</p><p>The change of topic puts a small smile on Betty’s face as she sits down at the table in the room, watching her roommate pulling clothes out of her bags. “I think I’ll surprise him, Jane”.</p><p>The eyebrows of the brunette girl shoot in the air. “Surprise? That means you’ll visit him, but…”.</p><p>“… but I won’t tell him that I’m coming”, Betty answers smiling. “I… I just miss him. And I can’t explain it but… it feels like everything we plan always seems to go downhill… I just want to be spontaneous for once… I just want to see him”.</p><p>For a second Jane looks at her like she is insane, but her gaze quickly transforms into something much more understanding. “You’re really crazy about him, aren’t you?”</p><p>“I think so”. <em>Even after all these years.</em></p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>She packs her bags two days later.</p><p>It’s the 24<sup>th</sup> April and a one of the first warm days this year when Betty walks over the parking lot of the campus, dressed in a simple dress painted with multicolored flowers, her hair pinned up in her iconic ponytail.</p><p>“You sure you got everything?” Jane is beside her, the dark eyes wandering over the bag Betty is already loading on to the backseat.</p><p>“Yes… and it’s just one weekend… I’m sure I’ll survive”. The blonde girl pulls Jane into a hug, smiling over her shoulder while the anticipation is rising in her chest. “I’ll see you on Monday”.</p><p>“Have fun”, Jane answers with a grin while they both break apart and Betty jumps into the car.</p><p> </p><p>The way all the way to Annapolis is long and stressful. Betty usually likes to drive in her car because it offers her a short escape from her surroundings and daily problems. But driving nearly five hours to Maryland is a whole other story.</p><p>One hour passes by where she sings along to the voices on the radio, her fingertips tapping on the steering wheel in a steady rhythm.</p><p>The second hour passes by and she drives past New York, constantly yelling at other drivers on the street, wondering how Veronica manages to live in a city with people like this.</p><p>In the third hour she turns the radio off and just concentrates on the way in front of her.</p><p>After the fourth hour she starts to get a headache and she reaches up and pulls the hair tie out of her hair, freeing her golden waves from the strict ponytail and immediately feeling a little more relaxation. She throws the hair band on the passenger seat and tries to remember why she even wears her hair up at all.</p><p>After four and a half hours she finally reaches Annapolis and her heart skips in her chest the first time she reads the “United States Naval Academy” sign at the side of the road. It takes her some time to find the Academy because the roads in this town seem to be a bit confusing for someone that has never been here before.</p><p>It’s past 4pm when she finally parks the car in a parking lot area around the campus. She grabs a pair of sunglasses from the car shelf and puts it on her loose hair while taking her bag out from the back seat.</p><p>Betty and Archie talked a lot about their lives in college from time to time and even though Betty doesn’t know his exact dorm room number, she knows in which side of the building he lives.</p><p>To get to the dormitory she has to walk past the huge outdoor training place, and she blinks against the late April sunlight that is shining over the grass area to her left.</p><p>There are plenty of people in several Navy Uniforms, a few of them dressed in white shorts and dark-blue jackets, another group of people dressed in typical army-like green and brown uniforms and a hand full of people are wearing normal sport outfits while doing various sports exercises.</p><p>It isn’t hard to spot the coaches between all the students because the two of them are wearing silver whistles around their necks and their commandos are echoing over the whole area.</p><p>This place weirdly seems to be tough and relaxing at the same time because even though some of these students on the grass seem to die during this exercises, there is also the feeling of the approaching end of work brought by the low sun and smell of freshly cut grass.</p><p>Betty walks all the way past the exercise area and is about to enter one of the few entrances of the dormitory when the mild April wind carries the sound of a well-known laughter to her ears. She freezes in place and turns around, facing the grass area with the students once again.</p><p>It just takes her a few seconds until she spots him in the crowd.</p><p>Archie Andrews is standing a little apart from the training groups at the edge of the areal, by his side two other people that seem to be in a conversation with him.</p><p>Betty just stands there for a moment until her feet start to move in his direction and suddenly it feels impossible to tear her eyes away from the red-haired man in front of her.</p><p>He is only about 20 feet away and his back is turned in her direction, but she knows by the way his head falls back when he laughs that this is him. This is Archie.</p><p>There is a blonde guy beside him, obviously talking about something funny and a brunette girl in front of them, smiling up to their faces, all three of them wearing the green-brown army uniforms.</p><p>“Archie!” She calls his name after a few more steps and even though he doesn’t hear here, his blonde friend beside him does.</p><p>She watches how the guy with the blue eyes’ pokes Archie in the side and is then pointing in her direction.</p><p>Archie turns around, his eyes searching the whole place – <em>and then he finally sees her</em>.</p><p><em>This was so worth it</em>; she thinks the moment their eyes meet and for a second everything else seems to meld away.</p><p>There is only Archie and the frozen and disbelieving look on his face, there is only Betty and the afternoon sun that reflects in her golden hair.</p><p>Her packed bag falls to the ground the second he starts walking in her direction and she just runs towards him, a smile breaking over her face while the chilling April air shoots two single tears in her wide-green eyes.</p><p>“<em>Betty?</em>” He sounds so breathless and stunned at the sight of her that she could laugh over his shocked face as she jumps in his arms and clings to his uniform while his arms close around her like hundred of times before.</p><p>This is everything she wanted these last few months and she realizes by the way he seems to hold her tighter and tighter with every second that passes by that he seems to share her thoughts.</p><p>“How… what…”, he mumbles against her hair and she grins while slowly pulling out of this hug, tearing herself out of his arms to stand right in front of him.</p><p>“It was supposed to be a surprise”, she simply says while she stares up to his face.</p><p>A laugh comes over his lips while he reaches out to bring the slipped sunglasses on her head back in the right place. “Well… it worked”.</p><p>Her eyes search his face like a child looks for presents under the Christmas tree, full of euphoria and joy. <em>He changed</em>.</p><p>“Your hair is short”. The words leave her mouth in a surprised tone as she steps on her tiptoes to brush through the freshly cut, red hairstyle.</p><p>“I needed to cut it… it’s part of the training”, he simply says and she can see in the corner of her eyes that he is closing his own as a sign that he is enjoying the feeling of her fingers on his skin.</p><p>“Why didn’t you tell me?”</p><p>Their eyes meet once again, and a smile appears in the corner of his mouth. “It was supposed to be a surprise”, he repeats her own words.</p><p>For a long moment she gets lost in his eyes and she realizes once again that driving here all the way from Connecticut was worth it. And suddenly all she wants to do is kiss him, pull him closer until there is nothing more than skin between them but as soon as her eyes even land on his lips, his friends from the training area want to join them.</p><p>They let go of each other as soon as the blonde guy and the brunette girl appear next to them and it takes a lot of effort for Betty to concentrate on these new acquaintances in front of her.</p><p>“Hi”, the girl says with a bright smile on her pretty face and reaches Betty and hand. “I’m Sarah… you must be Betty”. The personality of the small girl seems to match her perfect appearance, because even though this woman is dressed in a dirty overall, she still looks like the kind of person that could walk on a red carpet with this look.</p><p>“Yes, I’m Betty”. She shakes the small hand of Sarah. “Nice to meet you”.</p><p>This process repeats itself with the blonde, tall guy beside Archie who turns out to be a nice and funny man called Luke.</p><p>“That’s her?”, he asks in an obvious silent way in Archie’s direction. “That’s Betty? You never told me she is hot”.</p><p>“Luke!” Sarah punches the blonde guy in the side, and he winces immediately. “Sorry…”.</p><p>„Well we just finished with the exercises for today… we had planned to go to the bar later… maybe you guys want to join us?“, Sarah says while her blue eyes move from Archie’s to Betty’s face with a honest smile on her curved lips. „I mean… it’s Friday“. </p><p>„Maybe“, Archie answers while his hand reaches for Betty’s. „Why don’t you guys go ahead and we’ll catch up in a second“. </p><p>Luke just smirks at Archie while padding him on the shoulder in a ruff way. „Common Sarah… let’s go“. </p><p>They both leave towards the dormitory and Betty watches them walk away for a moment before Archie pulls her towards him in a gentle but fast move and she looks up to his warm eyes and the adorable smile on his face. </p><p>„So how long are you gonna stay?“, he asks while leaning a bit down to her.</p><p>He looks so different with his short cut hair and his army uniform… different but still good. A different kind of good, almost in a more mature way. </p><p>„The whole weekend“, she answers while biting her lip, knowing damn well that his eyes follow every movement on her face. „… but of course only if you want that too“. </p><p>A honest laughter comes over his lips and he answers her unnecessary question with a long awaited kiss. His arms seem to pull her up to him while she leans into his touch, closing her eyes to sink into the electric feeling of <em>finally</em> being close to him again. His lips feel cold against hers but she doesn’t care at all and lays every emotion she went through these last months into this touch in this very moment. </p><p>
  <em>I miss you.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I want you.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I love you. </em>
</p><p>They break apart to catch some air after what feels like forever and he seems amused about the way she looks a bit breathless. </p><p>„So the whole weekend?“, he asks while they start walking back over the grass area towards the dormitory and he picks up her bag on the way. </p><p>She smiles back to him while he reaches for her hand as she welcomes back the consuming feeling of being near him again. „Yes“. </p><p>The last sun rays of the day are shining on his green uniform and she grins up to him, admiring this new version of a boy she loved more than half of her life. „This is gonna be fun“. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>           </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I‘m sorry it took this long for a new chapter but I finally bought a new laptop so the next chapters should be up faster :) </p><p>There are a lot of scenes where Betty and Archie are separated in this chapter and I know that people want to read a lot of Barchie moments so I promise there will be more scenes of them in the next chapters!<br/>It wouldn’t feel like a long distance relationship without having them apart and meeting new people etc, so I hope you guys will enjoy it this way... </p><p>So Betty is in Maryland now for the very first time :) we have 5 chapters left of this story and it’s about to get a little rollercoaster-like...</p><p>Stay healthy!! ❤️</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Let Your Heart Hold On</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>When things go bad,</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>We often say:</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>“I can’t help it… it’s just who I am” – No.</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>It’s not who you are.</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>It’s just who you’ve become.</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>There is a difference.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>• G. Boston</strong>
</p><p><br/> <br/> <br/>The mild April air freezes around Archie Andrews just like the air gets stuck in his throat the second he sees Betty Cooper standing a few feet away from him on the Naval Academy training area, her colorful dress slightly swinging in the wind, her blonde waves of hair shining golden under the low hanging afternoon sun.<br/> <br/><em>Betty?</em><br/> <br/>She is here. <br/>She is in Annapolis.<br/>She is right in front of him.<br/>… and she is smiling like the most beautiful woman on this earth the second her bright, green eyes meet his own.<br/> <br/>It all feels very surreal the moment his feet start to hurry in her direction. Maybe because he spent the last week with trying to get the numb feeling of missing her out of his head.<br/> <br/>And here she is, right in front of him.<br/> <br/>The second she jumps into his arms he realizes she is actually here, and he buries his face in her hair, his eyes closed while he breaths in the familiar scent of her vanilla shampoo.<br/> <br/>“Betty?” He can feel her smile against the side of his neck, and he holds her tighter than before while she seems to cling to his body in an almost painful need. “How… what…?”<br/> <br/>“It was supposed to be a surprise”, she says as they finally let go of each other and he can look at her well-known face.<br/> <br/>“Well… it worked”. He laughs while his eyes wander over her small silhouette, carefully taking in the sight of her natural beauty while he realizes that just her appearance here alone seems to spin his world around.<br/> <br/><em>God, she is beautiful.</em><br/> <br/>He missed the color of her light, green eyes and the way they always seem to look for his own and he loves the way he can read every emotion in the small expressions on her face. Without really thinking about it he reaches out and adjusts the sunglasses on her head.<br/> <br/>“Your hair is short”, she states.<br/> <br/>“I needed to cut it… it’s part of the training”. And suddenly her small fingers are brushing through his hair and he closes his eyes in a devoted way, calmly enjoying the touch of her soft hand.<br/> <br/>“Why didn’t you tell me?”<br/> <br/>Their eyes meet once again. “It was supposed to be a surprise”.<br/> <br/>He watches how her eyes fall to his lips while he speaks like they do every time when she is about to kiss him but before he can even lean in her direction Luke and Sarah are joining them.<br/> <br/>“Hi, I’m Sarah… you must be Betty”.<br/> <br/>He watches how the two girls shake hands in a friendly way and after that it’s Luke’s turn to introduce himself. It takes him one minute to say something stupid. “That’s her? That’s Betty?... You never told me she is hot”.<br/> <br/>Before he can even say anything to that Sarah punches the blonde guy into the side. “Luke!”<br/> <br/>“Sorry…”.<br/>“Well we just finished with the exercises for today… we had planned to go to the bar later… maybe you guys want to join us?“, Sarah blue eyes move from Archie’s to Betty’s face with a honest smile on her curved lips. „I mean… it’s Friday. “ <br/> <br/>This was the plan one hour ago, but Archie’s hand reaches for Betty’s while Sarah speaks and it dawns to him that he would cancel every plan possible to spent time with her instead. “Maybe… why don’t you guys go ahead, and we’ll catch up in a second?”<br/> <br/>Luke just smirks at him while they both nod and leave and he watches how Betty looks after them while they walk over the grass area.<br/> <br/>To get her attention he pulls on her arm in a light move and watches her stumble against him before his arms close around her once more. “So how long are you gonna stay?”<br/> <br/>“The whole weekend… but of course only if you want that too”. He loves this teasing side of her and how easy it is to read the unspoken signals in all her movements… like biting her lip in this very moment.<br/>Giving in was never so easy as in this moment so he leans down and seals her mouth with his own, feels how she pushes her whole body against him in her typical impatient way.<br/> <br/>“So the whole weekend?”, he breaths as soon as they part again and just with that nothing else seems to be on his mind.<br/> <br/>“Yes”. A wide smile breaks over her face as he reaches for her hand, locking her fingers with his own and they start making their way back to the dormitory.<br/> <br/>He picks up her bag after a few feet while feeling her eyes on him the entire time, her voice an exited promise in the fresh afternoon air. “This is gonna be fun!”</p><p>„So what do you want to do first?“, he asks. „You wanna go directly to the bar, or you want to go see my room… or you just want break for a few minutes…“.</p><p>„I would love to do all those things“, she admits. „But can we go and eat something at first?“ Her hand is pressed against her stomach while she speaks. „Not gonna lie… I’m starving“.</p><p>He smiles while he simply responses: „I know the perfect place“.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>Betty follows Archie to the local Diner just two streets around the corner, a place where he ate over 100 times these last few months. They order fries and two cheeseburgers while complaining that there isn’t even one milkshake on the menu.</p><p>„Luke showed me this place last year“, Archie says while they are sitting at a small table in front of each other, both of them leaning back in their seats while eating up the remaining fries that are left on their plates after their sumptuous meal.</p><p>„It’s nice“, is Betty’s reply while she empties her cola in one go.</p><p>He smiles at her attempt to be polite. „It’s nothing compared to POP’s“.</p><p>„True…“. They both laugh while enumerating all the things that taste better in their Diner back home in Riverdale than in this cheap restaurant, beginning with the meat on the burgers up to the ketchup.</p><p>The angelic sound of her laughter echoes through the whole Diner a few times and Archie just sits there, smiling at the blonde girl across the table, not truly believing that she is really right in front of him.</p><p>He had missed her.</p><p>„Betty?“</p><p>The sudden change in his voice forces her to look directly in his face and the fries in her hand freezes halfway to her mouth.</p><p>„I’m happy you’re here“.</p><p>There is a truth in his voices that paints a small smile in the corner of her lips. „So am I…“. The fries in her hand find their way to her mouth and there is something inexplicably attractive in the way her eyes seem to bore into his own.</p><p>His fingertips are tapping on the side of the small table while she reaches for the last drop of cola in front of her and he just knows by the way a little smirk is still stuck on her face that she damn well knows he is still watching her.</p><p>Once she puts the glass back down to the table she licks over her glossy lips the exact same second her eyes fall back on his. „So… what now? We’re going to the bar, or…?“</p><p>„It’s up to you… you’re my guest, you can choose what we’re doing tonight“.</p><p>„Let’s go to your room“, she says without even waiting for him to finish his sentence and he stands up immediately while she laughs at his relieved reaction.</p><p>„Thank god“, he murmurs while taking her hand and pulling her out of the small Diner down the streets to the Academy.</p><p>„You know… I really want to see this bar you guys were talking about earlier…“, she says while they walk down the streets.</p><p>„We can still go there“, he replies. „It’s not even 7“.</p><p>„I would love to“.</p><p>So he pulls out his phone while they reach the Academy and walk up the stairs of the front door.</p><p>
  <strong>I’ll show Betty our room… we’ll be at the bar later - <em>Archie Andrews 6:47pm</em></strong>
</p><p>They walk through the first corridor when he gets a quick reply.</p><p>
  <strong>Alright, see u guys there… I’m at Sarah’s place for now… ;) - <em>Luke Perez 6:48pm</em></strong>
</p><p>Archie can’t help but roll his eyes at Luke’s message while a part of him is thankful for a roommate like him. Luke’s girlfriend Jessica has been visiting him a few times in the last months and Archie has searched the distance during these evening, giving the couple their well-deserved alone time.</p><p>It’s only fair that Luke gives him the same thing.<br/> <br/> <br/>Beside him, Betty follows him into the dormitory, and they walk through the big hallways hand in hand, his mood swinging upwards like the corners of his lips while Betty tells him about the nerve wrecking car-ride she endured these last few hours.<br/> <br/>“Can I just say that I hate every single driver on the streets?”, she says while they finally reach the door of his room. “Oh, is this yours?”<br/> <br/>His answer is a nod while he unlocks the door with his keys, and they step inside. The last golden sun-rays shine through the windows, painting the small room in deep shadows as he is letting go of her hand and throws her bag on his bed.<br/> <br/>“Looks just the same as the rooms in Yale”. Betty smiles as she stares through one of the dirty windows. “But the view is a little nicer in New Haven…”.<br/> <br/>“You wanna know what my favorite view was?” He watches how she turns around to him and curiosity appears in her green eyes. “Looking at you through my window in Riverdale”.<br/> <br/>She rolls her eyes and he gets it because – <em>hell, this is so cheesy</em> – but at least it’s the truth.<br/> <br/>Within a second, he steps into her personal space, lifting her chin up with a soft but firm move so she is forced to look back into his eyes.<br/> <br/>“Funny?”, he asks with a quiet voice, hinting at the silent laughter in the corner of her mouth.<br/> <br/>“No…”. There is still a smile on her face while her eyes fall to his chest, obviously lying on his dark green uniform. “Not at all…”.<br/> <br/>“Good”. With that he leans down and crushes his lips on hers, breaking her eyes away from his body. He can still feel her smile against his mouth in the first few seconds, but it fades away once she leans deeper into him, her arms pulling herself up to him while she rises to her tiptoes.<br/> <br/>This moment is long overdue, and his mind goes back to the last time he held her so close while he realizes that once again, months have passed without any physical touch between them.<br/> <br/>Reading Betty was always one of his easiest abilities. He knows on the way her tongue brushes against his own that she wants him, wants this just as much as he does. There is a soft groan he can hear in her throat as he presses his fingers against her lower back, pushing her further into him and he knows they stopped drawing lines between them a long time ago and everything he says or does seems to be welcomed by her in an almost impatient way.<br/> <br/>He wants to tell her how often he thought about having her here with him but there simply isn’t any room left for words anymore as she takes over control in a way he knows she likes it the most. So, she softly pushes him backwards and he lays down on his bed, her packed bag landing on the floor after one simply kick from his foot and she climbs on top of him in a practiced manner.<br/> <br/>There is something absolutely breathtaking about the way Betty Cooper is sitting on top of him, a soft smile hidden under the revealing look of desire on her pretty face and he forgets the frustration and disappointment he felt two weeks ago when he had to spent his birthday without her by his side.<br/> <br/>He is more than glad that she surprised him with this visit here today because he damn well knows that he wouldn’t survive missing her one more week. I fact he had planned to visit her in New Haven at the end of the month but only god knows how glad he is that the time of their reunion is right now and not days or weeks away.<br/> <br/>Admiration is written on his face as he watches her starring down at him, her soft eyes wandering over his hair and face, right before taking in every little piece of clothing he is wearing.<br/> <br/>“You really like the uniform, huh?” The words slip out of his mouth in an amused way and the appearance of a slight red color on her cheeks shows him that his guess is absolutely right.<br/> <br/>“Shut up”. He laughs about her abrupt words and the fact that she is obviously embarrassed that she isn’t able to hide the smallest emotion from him in moments like these.<br/> <br/>“You just look so different…”, she admits in a plain tone while she reaches forward to run her fingers through his new haircut. “… so much more grown-up… much more trained”.<br/> <br/>Her eyes fall dawn to his chest and that’s when he reaches out and catches her hand by her wrist and pulls her down to him. “You look different too, you know?”, he replies while her excited eyes lock with his own. He reaches out another time to grab the sunglasses from her head, slowly putting them on the small desk beside his bed before his eyes fall back to her. “The dress… the loose hair… sunglasses… someone is becoming a young lady, huh?”<br/> <br/>He knows by the way she opens her mouth to respond something, but he leans upwards and pulls her down at the exact same moment, so their lips crash onto another once again. Her words fade away as his fingers reach into the soft fabric of her dress, twirling the material around while she presses her body against his in a needy way.<br/> <br/>Her body heat penetrates through both of their clothes and they both drown in their closeness to one another until she breaks away from him to catch some air, a petty answer on her lips. “I always looked like a woman… but it’s a miracle that you’re looking like a whole soldier right now”.<br/> <br/>That’s a lie and they both know it. Her words don’t matter, it’s rather the way she speaks down to him. Betty always liked to tease him when they were younger, she loved to play the superior, stronger part of their relationship which mirrored all her actions while growing up. She helped him studying so he wouldn’t fail second grade, she was there for him when he was having issues with his dad or with his mom, she was there whenever he needed her.<br/> <br/>Today those things shifted a little bit. He still needs her, still wants her near him. But he recognizes by the way she smirks down to him in a playful act that this is the teasing Betty he knew in the last 16 years and he is the same boy that used to fall for all her pranks.<br/> <br/>But they aren’t eight years old anymore, they are nearly adults now and the playful provocation in her shiny eyes means so much more than all those years ago.<br/> <br/>“A miracle?”, he repeats her words with raised brows. “Let’s see about that…”.<br/> <br/>With that he pulls on the fabric he has still wrapped around his fingers and lifts her summery dress up. She raises her arms in the perfect moment to let the clothing drop over her head and he throws it on the floor with a disregarded movement, not caring about anything except her. <br/> <br/>He doesn’t really have the time to admire the sight of her blue underwear because she is already working her way through his uniform. It’s not really easy to open these clothes and her clumsy and nearly helpless attempts of undressing him are making him laugh quietly.<br/> <br/>“Let me help”, he murmurs against her lips as he catches her hands and pulls them away from the opening of his jacket. With one fast turn he grabs her by the waist to swaps places with her and he can’t fight the smirk on his face as she falls down on his mattress with her golden hair spread on his grey pillow.<br/> <br/>He ends up standing on his feet in front of the bed to pull of his clothes while he looks down at her, eyes meeting in this familiar and yet thrilling moment.<br/>“You have no idea how many times I thought about having you here in Maryland”, he admits with a low voice while watching her almost naked body right in front of him.<br/> <br/>She smiles at that and he is glad that he can share everything with Betty without the situation getting weird or uncomfortable. <br/>“You weirdo”, she answers, the necking tone in her voice back like a few minutes before and he just shakes his head with an amused smile while he finally gets rid of every last piece of clothing.<br/> <br/>“A weirdo you’re about to sleep with”, he adds while laying down again, his body towering over hers as he watches her dark eyes lingering over his face.<br/> <br/>“Maybe I shouldn’t”, she says challenging. “Maybe this is a mistake…”.<br/> <br/>He just lays above her for a moment, his whole bodyweight on his elbows while he simply admires the color of her now nearly black eyes. It’s the same look she gave him hundreds of times before, every time they find themselves in intimate situations like this.<br/> <br/>But he will never forget the very first time she looked at him this way. The day of their “<em>Origin of Love</em>” rehearsal in his garage… the first time he saw not only love but also desire in her eyes. The day he knew he had fallen for her.<br/> <br/>“Well…”, he says slowly while he pulls himself back to reality. “… then I better make this mistake worthwhile”.<br/> <br/>He underpins his words with a kiss and giving in to her completely, simply enjoying the feeling of her soft skin against his own while she lifts her back a little to rip the sky colored bra from her body. There is so much familiarity in all their actions that it’s totally normal for Archie to be the one pulling her slip down her legs with one hand and she kicks the thin piece of fabric to the end of the small bed.<br/> <br/>Her eyes search for his as she lays her hands against his bare chest with a slight push, a gesture she always does when she suggests being the one on top.<br/><br/><em>Not this time</em>; he simply tells her with putting her hands back to the mattress. Betty loves to be the one in control, that’s a thing he learned pretty quickly once they started going out last year. That doesn’t just apply to the bedroom, that’s the case in pretty much every part of her life.<br/>But sometimes, in very rare moments her longing for control seems to break under the desire of letting go for a few moments.<br/> <br/>There is a reason she seems to tease him from time to time and it took him a while to read between the lines of her behavior but at the end of the day it’s as simple as that – Betty liked teasing Archie when they were kids because it led to him chasing her, even though she always seemed to be the one in control.<br/>Years later Archie realizes the same thing still seems to be a thing… but now the power between them is equal, a mixture of understanding, devotion and love.<br/> <br/>So, he simply smirks at her while she stares back up to him. “Not yet”.<br/> <br/>And after a moment his smile gets mirrored on her face, a symbol of approval while his hands move down and he pushes her legs apart with one fast movement, making her shriek for a second.</p><p>He missed her, he missed her body but all above he missed her having so close to him, that he can feel her breathing quickening the second his fingers brush against spot right between her legs.</p><p>The touch of his hand is minimal, barely skin contact at all but he loves how she reacts to every small gesture he offers her.</p><p>They stay like this for a bit while he enjoys the feeling of showing her his love in ways like this, something that is still new to the both of them. They may have been together for nearly a year now… but thinking back, they only saw each other for a month in total during this time.</p><p>Every time he kisses Betty, it feels like the first time.<br/>Every time he touches her like this, it feels new, it feels thrilling and exciting.</p><p>A quiet word comes over Betty‘s lips, something that sounds like his name and a phrase of a song at once and he stares at her peaceful face while her whole body seems to stretch against his hand, a almost desperate way to tell him she wants more than just this minimal touch.</p><p>Against her wishes he pulls his fingers back in a quick move and watches how she opens her closed eyes, the soft groan on her lips disappearing in the silent air.</p><p>„Who is the tease, now?“, she breaths in an eagerly way and he coughs out a quiet laugh.</p><p>„Why… always so impatient?“, he mumbles while he places his mouth on the side of her neck, feeling how his lips leave goosebumps all over her skin.</p><p>There isn’t even time for her to find a good response before he lets himself sink down a little, pushing against her still spread legs, showing her his own way of surrender.</p><p>He groans against her neck once there isn’t anything left between them, not even air and her hands are on his bare back as he sinks into her, skin on skin, heartbeat on heartbeat.</p><p>The feeling of being reconnected with her is a mixture of love and lust and he is thanking god, or the universe or whoever is responsible for bringing this woman back to him today, for this moment right here with her.</p><p>Her legs wrap around his body as she pushes herself off the mattress, pressing herself even closer to him until they fall in a steady rhythm, much faster and more careless than the times before.</p><p>Maybe the time they are spending apart is changing them. A little bit, every day. They are slowly turning into new versions of themselves, walking on this earth to learn new things, meet new people. Maybe that’s why they are both much more open and undaunted in this moment, while desperately trying to make up for time they lost to other people.</p><p>Her fingernails leave marks on his back after a moment and he lets go of her neck, only to meet her half opened eyes right under his own. Her cheeks are flushed and there is a light film of sweat on her skin while she leans up to him, pressing her soft lips against his rough ones and he moans devoted into the kiss as she bites into his lower lip.</p><p>That’s the moment she relaxes completely in his arms and that’s the reason he wanted to take the lead today. Betty is always strong and determined but sometimes these characteristics tend to get over her head a little bit and she seems more tired than effervescent. Archie knows there is a part in her that tries to be perfect... that’s something her parents taught her to do since the day she was born. And he also knows that even though she hates the pressure of trying to be perfect every single day, she is still trying to her best to meet these unrealistic high expectations.<br/>Archie knows damn well that Betty is beautiful in every single way but she is still spending a huge amount of time chasing after the perfect life she once tried to escape so badly.<br/>That’s why he likes to push her into the spectator role from time to time. And even though she loves being the one in control he can feel the absolute relaxation and ease in her body in moments like this.</p><p>Their movements get more unrhytmic and hasty with every second that passes by and he loves the moment both of their body’s seem to get more heated and loaded with tension.<br/>It only takes them a few seconds after that to jump over the long awaited edge and he can’t help but close his eyes while her body trembles underneath him and he just lets himself fall down on top of her, the strength leaving his arms within a short moment.</p><p>“God, how I have missed this”. There is a soft giggle in her voice as she reaches up and strokes through his hair with her fingers while his face is buried in the curve of her neck, eyes closed and deep breathing against her skin.<br/> <br/>“Sounds like it wasn’t a mistake after all…”, he murmurs silently to indicate at her playful talking a few minutes ago.<br/> <br/>“Hm… don’t know… the weekend is still pretty long, there are a lot of ways you can still screw things up…”.<br/> <br/>His warm breath brushes against her neck while he laughs at her sarcastic response. “When the hell did you become so sassy?” He lifts himself up again because he damn well knows how heavy his body is, so he pushes himself off her small silhouette and lays down on his side right next to her, directing his full attention to her.<br/> <br/>Their eyes lock with each other and for a moment they simply enjoy the calm silence around them.</p><p>“What now?” His voice sounds hoarse and deep once he finds the right words to speak. “We still got time to go to the bar…”.<br/> <br/>“Let’s go!”, she says without even waiting for him to finish his question.<br/> <br/>He watches how she jumps out of the small bed and collects her scattered clothes.<br/> <br/>“So… staying here… with me… didn’t even cross your mind?” A laugh comes over his lips as she pulls her dress over her head right after her underwear and she shoots him a look filled with amusement.<br/> <br/>“Well, I want so see where exactly this mysterious bar is you talked about…”, she simply shoots back while brushing through her hair with her fingers. “And by the way… we still got a whole weekend before us… right?” She winks at him – something she has never done before in her whole life – and he laughs again while sitting up, slowly grabbing some new clothes out of his closet.<br/> <br/>“Who are you… and what the hell did you do to Betty Cooper?”</p><p>He pulls his jeans up the moment she turns around to him, suddenly handing him a small piece of paper. "Here... for you".</p><p>A exited smile breaks over her face while he furrows his brows. "What's this?"</p><p>"Your birthday present".</p><p>"Betty, you didn't have to…".</p><p>"Stop it", she immediately interrupts him. "There is no way in hell I'm not gonna give you a present on your birthday… so shut up and open it".</p><p>There is a sparkle in her eyes that forces him to surrender. He opens the envelope in his hands and pulls out a letter card with a picture of New York on it.</p><p>"The present is a weekend in New York... with me", she explains, suddenly a lot more insecure than before. "I don't know if she told you yet, but Veronica's birthday is in October and she is planning on inviting all of us. Apparently it's gonna be a huge event with a lot of champagner and modern clothes". She rolls her eyes. "So... I thought it would be a great idea to spent the whole weekend in the big city. We can do all of this silly sight seeing stuff like they do in the movies... I don't know, that's just what crossed my mind and...".</p><p>He watches how she bites her lips while playing with her hands, and realizes these are signs of nervousness. There is a smile on his face as he leans down and catches her lips with his own, pulling her closer for a moment while she relaxes against his body.</p><p>"Betty... I love it", he simply answers when they let go of each other a few seconds after.</p><p>She exhales obviously relieved. "Really?"</p><p>"Yes". He turns his head to take a look at the card again. "But... isn't that... expensive as hell?"</p><p>"Well... not really. You'll understand once you see the hovel where we'll sleep... it's safe to say it didn't cost a fortune".</p><p>He laughs while she grins up to him. This present is something that totally caught him off guard but it would be a lie to say he isn't happy about it.</p><p>"Thank you. Really, Betty... thank you".</p><p>There is love in her eyes when she answers. "You're welcome".</p><p> <br/><strong>•••</strong></p><p><br/> <br/>Middleton Tavern is filled with people when they walk through the inconspicuous entrance in front of the small building and Archie takes Betty’s hand as soon as they start fighting their way through the crowd of people.<br/> <br/>“Why did they let us through…?”, Betty whispers in his ear while her eyes wander over the many, colorful lights over the dark, wooden bar at the end of the room. “We’re not even 21…”.<br/> <br/>“Luke knows the owner… and now the owner knows me”.<br/> <br/>“Oh… pretty handy”.</p><p>They find Luke and Sarah near the bar and join them at the little table while ordering their first round of drinks.<br/> <br/>“And? What do you think about this place?” Sarah is sitting across from Betty, smiling at her in an friendly way. “I know this bar is a little… rustic”.<br/> <br/>“No, no – it’s great”. Betty’s eyes wander through the shadowed room.<br/> <br/>“It’s the only place with live music”, Sarah adds while taking a sip from the undefinable drink in front of her. “That’s what makes it pretty special for us… it’s a great opportunity to play in front of people as a beginner”.<br/> <br/>Luke, who is sitting right beside the pretty brunette in a cozy locking position with his whole body leaned against the back of his chair, is the next one to throw something into the conversation. “Yeah… and sometimes… just sometimes… Sarah doesn’t even sound that bad on stage”.<br/> <br/>“You idiot”. The blonde guy gets a punch from Sarah right on his shoulder, but he only laughs as a reaction. “Oh common… you know I’m joking”.<br/> <br/>“So… you’re an artist?”, Betty asks.<br/> <br/>“I wish I was one…”. Sarah laughs before answering. “But no… I’m in a band with my brother Jerry. We get to play here every Tuesday and Friday”.<br/> <br/>“You’re gonna play tonight? I mean it’s Friday, right?” A baffled smile breaks over Betty’s face as the girl in front of her nods.<br/> <br/>“Yeah… Jerry should be here in a few minutes”.<br/> <br/>“Well this is gonna be fun”, Luke beside her simply adds while hiding a small smile in the curve of his mouth. “What about you, Andrews? You’re gonna sing with them again?”<br/> <br/>It’s the first time Archie joins the conversation and his eyes are stuck on the table in front of him while he answers. “I don’t think so… I mean it was fun the last time but…”.<br/> <br/>“Oh common, you’re amazing! All the songs you sang before were fantastic… and don’t tell me you didn’t like it up there, I saw the dumb smile on your face the last time you played something”.<br/> <br/>Luke is about to add something else when Sarah stands up in a hasty way, waving to some long-haired man that just entered the room. “Jerry is here! I have to go… see you guys later… and Archie, you better join us for some songs later, okay?”<br/> <br/>She leaves before Archie can even respond something to that and Betty watches the girl dressed in a pretty white dress walk through the crowd before she’s jumping on the small stage at the other side of the room.<br/> <br/>“Why didn’t you tell me that you’re singing in a band?” The question is simple and comes over Betty’s lips in a casual way and she tries to convince herself that it doesn’t bother her at all that Archie didn’t tell her something like this.<br/> <br/>“I don’t really sing in her band”, Archie answers as he turns his face in her direction, concern and maybe a little excuse painted in his hazel eyes. “It’s true, I did sing with them a few times in the last two weeks… but I guess I didn’t say anything about it, because it’s not very important to me”.<br/> <br/>He shrugs with his shoulders while she nods with a minimal smile on her lips. “But… I thought music is always important to you?”<br/> <br/>“It is”, he replies a little too fast, contradicting his own words.<br/> <br/>Betty is about to say something else, but suddenly Sarah’s angelic voice is blasting through the speakers on the wall while she is announcing her band called Vortex.<br/> <br/>The first song starts to play and Betty leans in Archie’s direction. “Vortex?”, she asks with her brows furrowed. “A swirl?”<br/> <br/>“Yes”. Archie turns to Betty again, his hand reaching for hers with a mild smile on his face. “It stands for the feeling when your everyday life seems to turn into a swirl, and you can’t really find a way out of it… it’s supposed to sound mysterious… at least that’s what Sarah said”.<br/> <br/>They both turn to the stage the moment the brunette girl starts to sing, her soft voice filling the room with a pleasant sound while her brother Jerry plays the piano in a smooth way, his pale face almost completely hidden behind a curtain of his black long hair.<br/> <br/>“Funny how we didn’t even know these two three weeks ago”, Luke says while grabbing the drink in front of him, smoothly finding his way back into the conversation. “And now we’re their number one fans… there actually pretty good”.<br/> <br/>Betty smiles as an answer, her eyes falling on the red-haired guy beside her whose face is turned towards the stage, his fingertips tapping the rhythm of the current song on Betty’s wrist in light, gentle touches.  <br/> <br/>“Yeah… they’re amazing”.</p><p><br/> <br/><strong>•••</strong><br/> </p><p><br/>The next hour seems to rush by in a giddy speed. They mostly talk about the Naval Academy and how Archie and Luke’s friendship begun at the end of last years summer, a bond born out of boredom, forced room-sharing and the common pain of missing their girlfriend’s.<br/> <br/>“Jessica is still in Huntingtown”, Luke says sometime around 10 pm while sipping on his fourth beer. “We’ve been a couple since high school… it’s hard spending so much time away from her, but I see her every time I’m going home”.<br/> <br/>“Huntingtown is just one hour away… that’s why he is able to visit her once a month”, Archie adds to Luke’s monolog.<br/> <br/>“Exactly… it’s not very far from here and actually a pretty city.” The blonde guys eyes fall on Betty with an honest smile on his lips. “My dad owns one of the villas at the beach. I already talked about this with Archie a few times, but I’m planning to spend a few days there during the summer break… I told your lover boy that he is welcomed to join me on this delightful trip but I’m still waiting for an answer”.<br/>He shoots an angry look in Archie’s direction before his eyes return to Betty. “What I’m saying is… you can come too, if you want. I bet Archie wouldn’t be averse by that”.<br/> <br/>It takes her a few seconds until she understands that this was an actual vacation invitation. “Oh, you’re really serious about that, aren’t you?” An uncertain but light laugh comes over her curved lips.<br/> <br/>“Absolutely... I’m not a joker”, Luke replies while winking at her in a playful way.<br/> <br/>“Yeah Luke isn’t a joker, he is the joke itself”, Archie adds and both boys immediately break into laughter.<br/> <br/>“Alright, joking aside… I’m serious. It would be nice to have some company in this big house and the beach is beautiful during the summer months. My dad won’t be in town until August, so we will have the villa all to ourselves”. There is something very honest and warm in Luke’s words while he speaks to both of them and for a second Betty is more than glad that Archie got such a good roommate in the Academy.<br/> <br/>She turns her head, her eyes searching for Archie’s. “What do you think?”<br/> <br/>“I don’t know…”, he admits honestly. “I mean the other option would be going back to Riverdale…”.<br/> <br/>While Betty’s mind turns to the memories of a house filled with her exhausting mother, her annoying little stepsister and her ex-boyfriend, Archie’s thoughts return to a house which is filled with memories of his dad, a place that seems to remind him constantly that he is gone forever.<br/> <br/>Betty and Archie love Riverdale. But it took them some time to realize that the thing they love the most about that town is each other.<br/> <br/>“Maybe the beach doesn’t sound like a bad idea”, suggests Betty tentatively. “It would be nice to see something different”.<br/> <br/>Archie nods, his face turning back to Luke. “You’re sure this is okay? We don’t want to be a burden or…”.<br/> <br/>“Dude… you two would actually do me a favor with that. I hate this big house… would burn it down, if I had the guts to do it…”, Luke simply replies after taking another sip form his beer. “And if I’m being honest… some company would be nice. I mean I love Jessica, don’t get me wrong… but after days of alone-time with her, I would like to kill her sometimes… you know what I mean?”<br/> <br/><em>No… can’t relate</em>; Betty thinks while her eyes meet Archie’s and she watches the playful smile on his curved lips.<br/> <br/>“So… we’re going to Huntingtown this summer?”, he asks her a little quieter than before while studying the emotions on her face.<br/> <br/>“I guess so… I bet it will be nice to spend some time at the beach”. <br/> <br/>“That’s what I thought”. Without a warning he leans forward and seals her lips with his own, sharing a soft kiss for a short moment.<br/> <br/>He smiles when he pulls away, grabbing the drink in front of him before pouring the entire beverage down his throat. “I think I’m gonna join Sarah and Jerry for a few songs”, he says. “You’re gonna be alright?”<br/> <br/>It takes her a moment to react to his sudden intention and the way he looks at her for approval. “Yeah… I’m fine”. The words roll over her lips way more natural than she thought they would, and she smiles at him when he stands up and makes his way through the crowd.<br/> <br/>Just one minute after that he is already standing on the small stage, a guitar in his hands, singing along to a country cover of “Your Love” from The Outfield.<br/> <br/>“He’s really happy that you’re here, you know?” Luke says over the music and she turns her head to look at the blonde guy across the table. “The first few months weren’t really easy for him”.<br/> <br/>There is sadness in his blue eyes while he just shrugs at his own words. “I guess the first few months at the Naval Academy aren’t easy for anyone. But he missed you a lot. And his hometown as well. It took some time for him to look this happy again”.<br/> <br/>They both turn their heads towards the stage again and she watches how Archie smiles to the crowd, the stage lights reflecting on his red hair, joy and happiness shining in his hazel eyes.<br/>There is something almost magical in the way he moves on stage, how he seems to be one with the music he plays or the words he sings.<br/> <br/>She always loved listening to his songs.<br/> <br/>A dull feeling rises in Betty’s chest as she realizes that months have passed since Archie had played the guitar. Even their school musical was over a year ago.<br/> <br/>She remembers every little detail about performing Origin of Love with him at this one fateful night in his garage. The way he looked at her… the way his voice melted into the perfect picture of him standing right in front of her, coming closer and closer with every verse, both of their buried feelings rising to the surface with an unstoppable speed.<br/> <br/>There is so much love in her memory whenever she is thinking back to the last weeks of their Senior Year and the many revelations and clarities it brought.<br/> <br/>And Betty can’t help it… but there is the slight feeling of pain aching in her heart once she realizes how much time has passed since then. It feels like another world.<br/> <br/>Her eyes fall back on Archie and her joyful smile breaks down into something much more forced and constrained as she watches how he turns to Sarah during the song, both of them smiling at each other during their performance, harmonizing perfectly on so many levels.<br/> <br/>She damn well knows that this is just some dumb moment filled with jealousy, but she can’t overlook the fact, that there is still so much more on her mind.<br/>Maybe it’s the feeling of strangeness to be in this place for the very first time, paired with the unfamiliarity of not really knowing any people at this bar.<br/> <br/>It’s the very first time it really dawns on Betty that her and Archie are living two separate lives… and that this isn’t something total new, this is something that has been this way for a whole year now.<br/> <br/>There is so much relaxation and pure joy written on Archie’s face while he sings, something that showed only in moments back home in Riverdale, whenever he had close friends and family around him. People that he trusts, people he cares about.<br/> <br/>And the same look he once gave people like Jughead, Veronica or even her are now directed to people like Sarah, Jerry or even Luke. The people of his new life.<br/> <br/>She can’t blame him for it. She can’t even speak about it in this moment.<br/> <br/>Betty may be a lot of things… smart, intelligent, polite, pretty, determined.<br/>But she isn’t perfect, nor is she emotionally cold. She is simply human.<br/> <br/>Sometimes you just can’t control your feelings and manage to put on a brave face… sometimes you just feel.<br/> <br/><em>“Try to stop my hands from shaking</em><br/><em>But something in my mind's not making sense</em><br/><em>It's been a while since we were all alone</em><br/><em>But I can't hide the way I'm feeling”.</em><br/> <br/>The perfect mixture of Archie’s and Sarah’s voices echo through the whole room and Betty just stares at something that looks like a memory, a broken picture in her bleak mind.<br/> <br/>Luke might be right; Archie is really happy that she is here with him. She knows it every time he kisses her, holds her close or even looks at her with his dark eyes.<br/> <br/>But Betty knows Archie better than anyone and the joy he is showing on this stage tonight isn’t due to her. It shows in the way he grins down at his guitar or looks back at Jerry from time to time. It’s the way he smiles at the brunette girl beside him every few seconds.<br/> <br/><em>“As you're leaving please would you close the door?</em><br/><em>And don't forget what I told you</em><br/><em>Just 'cause you're right that doesn't mean I'm wrong</em><br/><em>Another shoulder to cry upon</em><br/><em>I just want to use your love tonight</em><br/><em>I don't want to lose your love tonight”.</em><br/> <br/>Betty shouldn’t feel this way, but there is something heartbreaking in the realization, that Archie would be just as happy tonight, without her by his side.<br/> <br/>She should be glad that he found happiness, but it seems like every minute without him these last few months seem to crash down on her, reminding her with a painful certainty how much time they actually spent apart.<br/> <br/>The song ends, a few people applaud, and Betty claps her hands with a small smile on her lips. For a moment her eyes meet Archie’s at the other side of the room, but it only lasts a second until he turns his head to look at the music stand to start the new song.<br/><br/><em>It’s only normal that we both learn to lean onto new people during our time apart</em>; Betty tries to convince herself in her mind while she listens to the first few cords of “<em>Raise your Glass</em>” swinging through the stuffy air. <em>This is totally normal.</em><br/> <br/>And yet it feels like her heart is breaking a tiny bit by the thought of leaving Archie at the end of this weekend. She tries her best to concentrate on their upcoming vacation in Huntingtown together, or she tries to keep her head up at the thought of their weekend in New York in October. This isn’t the end of the world; this is just College. <br/> <br/>But Betty Cooper isn’t perfect in hiding her feelings from herself… <em>at least not anymore.</em><br/>And the hollow feeling of saying goodbye to Archie over and over again, leaving him behind and simply not seeing him while looking through her bedroom window is laying on her heart like a heavy truth.<br/> <br/>It’s the first time Betty realizes the consequences of a long-distance relationship and the small changes that come with it.<br/> <br/><em>As long as there aren’t big changes in our relationship, there isn’t anything to worry about</em>; the whisper in her head tells her.<br/> <br/>So she puts on a smile while she watches Archie perform on stage, a smile her mother used to wear so many years, a smile to hide the pain underneath like a perfect mask.<br/> <br/><em>“Smile Elisabeth… you have to look perfect all the time”.</em><br/> <br/>The voice of her own mother echoes through the back of her head while Betty is sitting there, her green eyes facing the stage, wandering over her singing boyfriend while desperately waiting for him to look back at her.<br/> <br/><em>Look at me. Look at me just once.</em><br/> <br/>Maybe there is more than just this simple request in her mind while she is pleading silently. Because while she is holding onto the past with all her strength, Archie seems to look into a future in this very moment, forgetting everything behind him. This may be totally lunatic, but when you get short moments with your partner after months without them, you seem to interpret every single situation in whole new and different ways than you would have done in other life situations.<br/> <br/>She tells herself that it’s totally normal that he hasn’t time to glance at her at least once during his performance.<br/> <br/>But it still hurts as hell when she seems to blend into the crowd without any resistance, disappearing in a sea of unknown people while slowly realizing that he wouldn’t even notice it.<br/> <br/>Her heart aches for a moment when she was the girl singing beside him, with his eyes on hers, his attention fully devoted to her.<br/> <br/><em>It was a cold dark evening,</em><br/><em>Such a long time ago,</em><br/><em>When by the mighty hand of Jove,</em><br/><em>It was the sad story</em><br/><em>How we became</em><br/><em>Lonely two-legged creatures,</em><br/><em>It's the story of</em><br/><em>The origin of love.</em><br/> <br/>She remembers these words like they were sung yesterday and the meaning behind them has never been more true. Figuratively Betty and Archie have always been a bundle, always best friends, always on each other’s side. It was clear that this separation would affect them sooner or later.<br/> <br/>Her eyes are still on Archie once the second song ends and “Vortex” are immediately starting the third one. There is one second, he actually looks back at her, smiling a little before turning back to Sarah and Jerry and Betty realizes that maybe… maybe all these crazy thoughts in her head are just her imagination. At least that’s what she hopes.<br/> <br/>“Thank you, Luke”. The words come over her lips in a thankful way and the attractive guy in front of her turns his face in her direction. “Thank you for inviting us to your beach house”.<br/> <br/>“No problem”, he replies with a warm smile on his lips. “I’m glad you guys want to join us… I can’t wait to see Jessica again. This long-distance thing is really messing with our minds… it’s quite stressful”.<br/> <br/>He looks back to the stage and Betty does the same, starring at the red-haired guy with the guitar in his hands, having the time of his life in this very moment. “Yeah… I know how that feels”.<br/> <br/>And with that she closes the box filled with fears, worries and assumptions for this night, burring everything deep in the back of her mind.<br/> <br/>The only thing that counts is Archie and his happiness and she is determined to be a part of that like she has been for the past 16 years.</p><p> </p><p><br/> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hi guys, I really hope you liked this chapter... :)<br/>It would mean a lot to me when you could leave a comment on what you liked or what I could do better in the next chapters.<br/>Stay safe everyone and take care!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Burning Embers</h2></a>
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  <em> <b>On the coldest nights</b> </em>
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  <em> <b>I’ll look for your glow,</b> </em>
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  <em> <b>Among the burning embers</b> </em>
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  <em> <b>Of your fiery soul.</b> </em>
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  <em> <b>I’ll sift through the ashes</b> </em>
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  <em> <b>In search of the spark</b> </em>
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  <em> <b>That ignited my mind</b> </em>
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  <em> <b>And lit up my heart.”</b> </em>
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  <em>- <b>Christy Ann Martine</b></em>
</p><p> </p><p>Betty’s weekend at the Naval Academy was over faster than she initially thought and saying goodbye would have been way harder if they didn’t have an upcoming vacation at Luke’s beach house planned.</p><p>“We’ll see each other in six weeks”. Archie’s voice is lingering in her head even on her way back to New Haven, the colorful and yet overwhelming memories of the last few days circling in her mind like a roaring storm.</p><p>It took some time for her to understand that it’s just normal for both of them to find new friends and new people they actually like and care about. Betty knew that Archie had to find new friends eventually… but maybe she never pictured them to be so perfect.</p><p><em>It’s everything he ever wanted</em>. This haunting sentence is slowly crossing her mind on her first few days back at Yale. It has always been Archie’s dream to play in a band. Vortex seems to be perfect for him. <em>This band is everything he ever wanted… and everything he ever needed.</em></p><p>She is happy for him, that’s clear. But there is a little part in her that seems to be worried about the latest changes, if not even jealous.</p><p>Maybe because she spent her whole childhood thinking that her and Archie would be a duo for the rest of their lives. She always pictured herself on his side, may it be school or even playing music. Getting your silly childhood dreams crushed shouldn’t feel this chastening… but it sucks that is does.</p><p>She sweeps all of these insignificant thoughts and doubts aside for the next weeks, putting them all in a small box in the back of her mind.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>•••</b>
</p><p> </p><p>It’s the middle of May when she runs into Evan Campbell in the Sterling Library.</p><p>The first few warm summer days have arrived, and Betty is walking through the big corridors dressed in her favorite casual Sunday dress, her loose messy bun swinging up and down on her head when she nearly stumbles over him while turning around the corner of a bookshelf.</p><p>“Oh… hey”. She hates herself that she can’t find any better words in this situation and watches how he glances at her while putting a dark green book back on one of the large shelves.</p><p>“Hi”, he simply replies. An uncomfortable silence follows before he turns around and leaves her standing in one of the many corridors, obviously done with this short encounter.</p><p>She watches him disappear behind the corner before she decides to swallow her pride for at least this one time and runs after him, the two books in her arms, pressed to her chest.</p><p>“Hey, Evan?”, she calls while following him around the shelf wall, almost running into him a second time.</p><p>He already has a new book in his hands, the black and white cover perfectly matching his dark jeans and white polo shirt. His brows furrow up on his forehead once she stops in front of him and he just looks at her with mixture of annoyance and even a bit curiosity painted on his face.</p><p>“How can I help you… Cooper?”</p><p>Her gaze is fixed on his face while she remembers the last time she saw those brown eyes and black hair, her memory returning to a night filled with coughing, fever pills and the blurred silhouette of the guy in front of her.</p><p>“I want to thank you”, she simply answers and is surprised how easily the words seem to come over her lips. “… for checking on me while I was sick”.</p><p>There is amazement and surprise written on his face while he stares back at her before he slowly nods. “No problem…”.</p><p>“I know this comes a bit late…”.</p><p>He laughs for a short second. “Oh yeah? One month earlier or later, who cares, right?”</p><p>The tease in his words leaves her speechless for a moment. “I’m sorry… I was busy”.</p><p>“Busy?” He turns back around to the shelf, looking for another book.</p><p>It takes her a few seconds to reply while several thoughts fly through her mind. Her visit at the Naval Academy and watching Archie with his new friends made her realize that New Haven is her temporary home now. She’ll be living here for the next four years and she simply can’t just talk to Jane all this time… she’ll need other friends too.</p><p>“Hey, Evan… I’m <em>really</em> sorry”, she finally says and the change in her voice forces him to look back at her. “I should have thanked you sooner, alright? You were so nice to me when I was sick, and you didn’t even have to look after me… but you did. And I’m thankful for that.”</p><p>The surprise is written on his face as he listens to her words and it takes him a moment to reply to her apology. “Well… Jane was a pain in the ass when she called me, you know? She practically forced me to look after you and said if I wouldn’t do it, you’d probably die, so I didn’t really have a choice”.</p><p>She laughs while he smiles and for the very first time, both of them seem to get along</p><p>“So, thank you for saving my life, I guess”, she answers.</p><p>“No problem”. His eyes fall to the books in her arms. “… you still have problems with math?”</p><p>The smile on her lips fades as she follows his gaze. “Yeah…”.</p><p>“You still need help with that?”, he asks in a neutral tone and she pulls up her brows while look up to him. “I mean I could tutor you again, if you want to…”.</p><p>His question is hanging in the air for a long moment where she is partly surprised over his offer and is partly glad that someone is willing to help her with math.</p><p>“Yes!” Her answer is a plain approval. „Absolutely.”</p><p>“Alright”. He takes a third book out of the shelf, probably something related to math and she is glad that they finally reached the point where they can smile at each other. “Let’s go”.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>•••</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Studying with Evan now is much more pleasant than a few weeks before. Jane seems to be in a state of total surprise and shock once she sees Evan and Betty sitting in their dorm room at the wooden table in the middle, going through every math exercises from the last months.</p><p>“I thought you guys hate each other?”, she said to Betty once the dark-haired guy left their room on a Wednesday evening.</p><p>“Not anymore”, Betty only replies while shrugging her shoulders. “I guess I changed my mind”.</p><p>And just like that Evan and Betty started to become friends.</p><p>They study together at least twice a week, most times in the library. Sometimes they get some frozen Yoghurt right after that, eating while walking over the campus, enjoying the warm May weather. He sends her learning scripts on her phone from time to time, videos and notes that are supposed to help her understand math a little more even though they don’t seem to work in her case.</p><p>She learns that Evan comes from New York and he lived there with his parents before he came to New Haven to study at Yale.</p><p>“My dad works at the office in one of the Central banks and my mom works in a big fashion place…”, he explained on a rainy Friday afternoon at the end of May, sitting on the windowsill in the library.</p><p>“That explains your chic clothing style”, Betty replies with a laugh. “New York… mom works at a fashion place… that explains a lot”.</p><p>He glares at her, but they end up laughing anyway.</p><p>One week before Betty leaves into her summer holidays Evan finds out that Archie studies at the Naval Academy. This time they are sitting in her room again, both at the table in the middle of the room.</p><p>“I knew you had a boyfriend… but that he is training at the Naval Academy is totally new information”, he said a bit too pejorative.</p><p>“You have something against the Navy?”, Betty replies a bit harsh, immediately feeling the need to defend Archie.</p><p>“Not in general… but my brother started the Navy program a few years ago”, he answers.</p><p>“I didn’t even know you have a brother”.</p><p>He looks at her for a long moment before answering. “Because I don’t count him as my brother… at least not anymore.” He stares at the math book between them for a few seconds. “The Naval Academy… Annapolis… this whole place, their program… it changed him”.</p><p>“How?” There is curiosity in her voice, but concern hidden in the back of her mind.</p><p>“I’m not saying that this applies to everyone”, he states. “But I’ve heard enough stories about the way they train their people there… and how it changed their students. My brother used to be a funny, vivacious man… he wasn’t the best in school stuff and was always interested in sport activities. The Navy seemed to be the perfect choice. But every time he returned home for the holidays… I don’t know how to explain it… he seemed more serious and pensive. He seemed like a new version of himself, someone totally new. He started drinking… got into bar fights at least once a week, got angry out of the blue. They sent him to the front right after his training… directly into the war zone. He wasn’t the same when he returned.”</p><p>There is a beat of silence between them before Betty asks: “What happened?”</p><p>It takes Evan a few seconds to reply, the memories obviously still haunting him to this day. “He returned unharmed, like most people of his unit. But the things he saw… things I can’t even imagine… they changed him.”</p><p>His eyes move up to Betty’s and a sad smile appears on his face. “He hasn’t been the same since he started his training years at the academy… learning all of these fighting techniques… shooting… the continual pressure to serve the Navy five years after his studying… all of that broke him. He is a totally different person now… hasn’t been home for years, doesn’t even talk to the family anymore. He changed into a picture book solider years ago and the brother I once knew is gone”.</p><p>Silence follows his sad words.</p><p>“I’m sorry about that Evan”. Betty’s voice sounds soft but also broken, pictures of Archie running through her mind in this very moment. <em>It wouldn’t get this far with him… he would never change like that.</em></p><p>“Listen Betty, I’m not saying that what happened to my brother applies to every single student at the Academy”, he replies. “I’m just telling you what I know and what I have seen… take care of your boyfriend… look after him from time to time”.</p><p>Out of context this sentence might sound silly, but Betty understands by the worry in Evan’s eyes that he is serious about this.</p><p>“Okay”. Her whisper is a promise to Evan, to herself, and to Archie.</p><p> </p><p>•••</p><p> </p><p>The 27. June 2021 is the day Betty is on her way to Maryland and also the first day of the year the weather hits the 30° Celsius mark.</p><p>This time it takes her only four and a half hours to drive all the way down to Annapolis with her car, her bag filled with way too many clothes stuffed on her backseat, the heat conditioner on the highest level.</p><p>The traffic isn’t as bad as the last time she drove to the Academy, but the anticipation for the next five days is making her all restless on her driver seat.</p><p>She reaches Annapolis around 5 pm and nearly jumps out the parked car, already sweating like crazy once the sun shines on her simple white top and casual blue shorts. It only takes her ten seconds to rip her bag out of the backseat before she spots Archie and Luke on the other side of the parking area, both already waving at her.</p><p>Archie walks in her direction and she smiles when he reaches her, letting him pull her into a hug. She closes her eyes for a moment, taking in the touch of his body and the scent of his skin, feeling nostalgic for a few seconds.</p><p>“Ready for Huntingtown?”, he mumbles against her ear and she nods while they pull apart.</p><p>He reaches for her bag and she takes his hand while they walk towards Luke and his car. “Never been more ready”.</p><p> </p><p>•••</p><p> </p><p>There isn’t much traffic on the road to Luke’s hometown and Betty simply enjoys the feeling of sitting in a car without being the one driving it. She is on the backseat, watching the landscape around the streets, listening to Archie’s and Luke’s conversations from the front part of the car while quite country music is playing through the radio.</p><p>“I can’t wait to jump into the water”, Luke says from the driver seat. “But I’m also starving… there are a few Diners and restaurants down the street from our house, which means we don’t have to cook… we can just go and get something to eat instead”.</p><p>“Perfect… I’m not the best cooker”, is Archies reply and Betty’s lips curve into a smile. <em>If that isn’t the understatement of the year.</em></p><p> </p><p>It’s already evening when they reach Huntingtown. There are a few houses at the side of the wide country road as they drive down a way towards the beach, before finally stopping at one of the last few villas in the area.</p><p>“Welcome to Huntingtown”, Luke murmurs while they get out of the car and grab their bags from the car trunk.</p><p>Betty can already taste the salt of the sea in the warm air before she can even see the ocean which is hidden behind the incredibly large mansion right before her eyes. The whole building seems to be made of beige wood, perfectly fitting into the environment made of sand and a few dry shrubberies.</p><p>For a few seconds she just stands there, eyes wide open, simply admiring the beauty of this view before Archie takes her hand und pulls her towards the front door with an amused smile, leading her into the building right after Luke.</p><p>They step inside and immediately enter a wide and spacious living room which is adjacent to a large eating area, every single furniture painted in bright and noble colors with the floor made of white marble. A huge part of the bottom floor of the building seems to be one big open space, a living room with an electric fireplace, one couch that seems to be more comfortable than most beds, a flat screen TV and a fully equipped kitchen to the right.</p><p>Archie speaks the words that are lingering in Betty’s mind. “Wow… you said that your dad has a lot of money… but I never thought that it would be this…”.</p><p>“Ostentatious?”, Luke says while throwing his bag to the floor beside the wall.</p><p>“I wanted to say nice but that works too”.</p><p>“My dad loves to spend his money on buildings… this isn’t his only house. He has another one on Barcelona… one in New York… I think his next one will be in LA…”, the blonde guy replies while walking through the big living area towards the wall-sized window. “Follow me… the beach is perfect at this time of the day”.</p><p>They put their bags right beside Luke’s on the marble floor and Betty follows Archie outside onto a wooden back porch that stretches the entire length of the house. The temperature difference between the air-conditioned villa and the air outside takes their breath away for a short moment while she takes in the beautiful view.</p><p>Betty has been to the beach for a few times in her life, whenever her mom decided it was time for another <em>perfect</em> family holiday.</p><p>But not once did the horizon look this gorgeous like it does in this very moment.</p><p>The house and back porch is a bit higher than the beach and there are stairs on the right side, leading to the light grey sand in front of Betty’s eyes. The sun is already setting to their right and the sunrays are mirroring on the water, painting the whole area in a warm and golden color.</p><p>“Luke!”</p><p>The voice of a women is echoing through the air and all three of them turn their heads to the left, spotting a girl at their age down at the beach. She is wearing a blue bikini that underlines the beauty of her dark skin and black long curls that falls down her shoulders while she is standing beside a red towel right beside the water, waving at Luke with a big grin on her face.</p><p>“Jess!”</p><p>Betty watches how the blonde guy races down the stairs and runs towards the girl on the beach before embracing her with a hug.</p><p>“I guess that’s Jessica”. Archie’s voice beside her pulls her back from her thoughts and she turns her face in his direction, meets his soft smile with a look filled with devotion.</p><p>There is something absolutely magical about Archie Andrews standing on a porch at the beach, his red hair slowly moving in the wind while he pulls her into his arms with a soft move, glancing at her for a short moment before sealing her lips with his own.</p><p>
  <em>It was the right decision to stay with Luke for a few days.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Because spending time with Archie will always be the right decision.</em>
</p><p>She knows that by the way he leans into her while they kiss how not only their bodies seem to connect so easily every time, but also their minds seem to dance around each other in an well-known way, knowing every single detail about the other. </p><p>
  <em>This week will be fun.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>•••</p><p> </p><p>The first evening at the beach house is quite relaxing.</p><p>They decide quickly that they’ll spent the next day down at the beach, so they stay inside the first night, sitting on the most comfortable couch Betty ever sat on while listening to the stories Luke or Jessica are telling.</p><p>Luke’s girlfriend is a pretty girl with a healthy attitude towards life which shows in her monologue about her career choices and her direct but also respectful choice of words while talking about her life in Huntingtown and how she decided to start her own business after College.</p><p>“What are your plans after College?”, she asks the little group around midnight, a glass of wine in her hands while sitting beside Luke, her head resting on his shoulder.</p><p>The silence from Archie’s side pushes Betty to answer first. “Well… I’m not sure yet… I mean there are still four years left… but I would love to work on something related to a newspaper, something similar like I did in High School… or I could do something with law like my brother”.</p><p>Jessica is smiling at her while she speaks while Luke beside looks like he is about to fall asleep any minute. “I think both of these directions would suit you”, the dark-haired girl answers with a lot of honesty in her voice.</p><p>Then her eyes fall on Archie. “What about you? Any ideas where you want to be deployed for the five years after your training?”</p><p>“No… not really”. There is a slight change in Archie’s voice compared to how he usual speaks which forces Betty to look at him. She knows damn well that he can feel her eyes on him, but he stares straight ahead at the small table in front of them.</p><p>“Something near Riverdale would be nice”. There is a quiet, awkward laugh in the back of his throat as he says that, words that sound way sadder than they should be.</p><p>“Well… I think we should go to sleep”. After what feels like an eternity Luke is the one to say something while he yawns and stretches at the same time. “And stop sounding like a depressed dog, dude. It’s summer and you’re at the beach, alright? No time to be sad about something that is still years away”. With that he stands up while pulling Jessica with him. “We’ll see you two tomorrow…”.</p><p>“Goodnight”. Jessica smiles at them one last time before leaving the room with her boyfriend, both walking up the stairs at the end of the room before disappearing into the dark.</p><p>Archie’s eyes are still fixed to the small living room table when Betty crosses her legs and turns in his direction, so he is almost forced to look at her.</p><p>“What was that all about?”, she asks in a neutral voice. There is no need to add the obvious questions because they both know what she is talking about. <em>His sudden tone-change. His sad voice. His hesitant words. </em></p><p>A few seconds pass by until he finally looks at her and she recognizes the pain in his dark eyes. That’s the same look he gave her when he left Riverdale a year ago… the same look she sees on him every time they part ways again.</p><p>“You know”. His answer is simple but holds much more emotion than his words before.</p><p><em>Of course she knows.</em> </p><p>It’s the same topic they are dancing around since he decided to join the Naval Academy over a year ago. It’s the same conversation they avoided for the last twelve months, the same problem that seems to haunt them, lingering in the dark, waiting for them to finally address it.</p><p>“I won’t come home after those four years”, he says slowly, talking about the elephant in the room for the very first time. “You know that I have to perform five years of service after my scholarship”.</p><p>She wants to say something but the right words just won’t come over her lips. What is she supposed to say?</p><p>
  <em>I know that you won’t be coming home for another 5 years after college?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I know that I will be back in Riverdale in 4 years… but you won’t?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I know that you can’t choose the job, base or even country for these 5 years… or that you can’t even say no?</em>
</p><p>“Arch…”. This is the only word that slips over her lips, a soft-spoken confirmation that she understands his worries and pain.</p><p>“I know this is stupid…”, he says while his eyes lock with hers, a sad smile appearing in the corner of his mouth. “I knew what I was getting into last year… I fucking knew that I would have to do these years of service…”.</p><p>His hand reaches out for her, his fingers stroking over her cheeks for a short moment. “I guess I didn’t think all of this would matter this much… I thought it would be easier to plan this future without Riverdale or you in the picture… but I was wrong”.</p><p>“I’m not <em>out of the picture</em>, Arch”, she responses, her voice a bit higher than usual. “You think five years is a problem for me?” A quiet laugh comes over her lips, partly because she wants to cheer him up, partly because she can’t believe that he is actually having doubts that she will stay with him this long. “I spent nearly my whole life with you… you really think you’ll get rid of me so quickly? It takes a lot more than 5 more years of long-distance relationship to take me away from you. And you’re not crazy for thinking this and it’s not stupid to have doubts about the future”.</p><p>These words may sound cheesy but sometimes this is the only way to get something important as this in Archie’s head. Betty knows that Archie can have a lot of insecurities or self-doubt about a lot of things sometimes... and the only thing she can do is tell him over and over again that all these fears and doubts inside his head are only imagination.</p><p>The sadness in Archie’s eyes seems to fade slowly while she speaks and there is pure joy the moment Betty realizes that she actually managed to cheer him up a bit.</p><p>“And by the way… Luke is right”, she adds with a smirk. “We’re at the beach… we’re at a beach house… there are a lot of better things we can do than thinking about the future”.</p><p>It takes a moment until he responses, a few seconds until she finally sees the worries on his face disappear as a surrendering smile breaks over his lips. „You’re right… so what do you have in mind?“</p><p>She leans forward, leaving her face just inches in front of his. Her voice is barely a whisper but the grin on her face is wide. „Wanna go swimming?“</p><p>The exited expression on his face freezes immediately. „You… <em>what</em>?!“</p><p>„Common!“ She bites her lips while jumping up from the couch, grabbing two white towels from her bag which is still laying on the marble floor.</p><p>With one pull the glass door from the living room is opened and Betty steps outside on the back porch, immediately breathless at the gorgeous surroundings.</p><p>The nearly filled moon is hanging in the pitch black night, painting the water, the beach and nearly everything else in white colors while the ocean seems to sparkle in the dark every time a wave breaks at the beach.</p><p>A little breeze is in the air but everything still feels so warm and comfortable that Betty knows this is the best idea she had in a while.</p><p>The second Archie steps outside and joins her on the porch she is already on her way down the stairs, pulling off her shoes once she reaches the soft sand. „I have to be honest… I never thought I would do something like this someday“, she shouts back to him while she walks over the sand, stopping in front of the water before turning back around to him. „My mom would probably kill me if she knew about this“.</p><p>Archie’s silhouette is walking towards her over the sand, painted in the low light of the little lamp up on the porch and the silver shining moon above them. Once he is near enough that she can see the smile on his face, he is already tearing his shirt from his body. „You’re crazy Betty… you know that, right?“</p><p>„Maybe… as long as I’m not <em>perfect</em>“, she simply replies while starting to undress herself as well. It just takes a few seconds until she is standing there in the dark, only dressed in her underwear, face lifted up to the sky.</p><p>„<em>In moments like this you are</em>“.</p><p>She isn’t sure if he actually answered that with a low mumble, if the soft wind carried his voice like a imagination to her ears or if she is simply hallucinating at this point but she turns back to him, watches how he stands there in his boxer shorts, his red hair turned to black in the silver moonlight.</p><p>„So?“, he asks, pointing at the dark water while stepping a bit closer to her. „We’re actually gonna do this?“ She follows his gaze, starring across the quiet water, suddenly not so sure anymore.</p><p>„Sure“, he simply replies. With that he takes a step forward and walks into the water, quietly hissing at the cold temperatures.</p><p>After two steps he turns back around to her, his smile almost hidden in the shadows on his face. „<em>We’re at the beach… we’re at a beach house… we should enjoy it</em>“, he mocks her own words in a loving way and she rolls her eyes before he laughs at her reaction.</p><p>„Common“. He reaches her his hand and she stares at it for a few seconds, admiring the sharp contrast of the bright skin against the black water underneath, before she finally lays her hand in his, letting him pull her in his direction in a soft movement.</p><p>
  <em>The water is cold. So freaking cold.</em>
</p><p>Together they take a few more steps until the water reaches Betty’s waist and a quiet „<em>damn that’s cold</em>“ rolls over her lips. Of course he laughs at her reaction but takes another step forward, pulling her with him.</p><p>And then her feet lose contact to the ground and she is actually swimming in this pitch black ocean while throwing several swears in Archies direction, whining about how stupid this idea was.</p><p>But everything fades away the second he pulls her towards his chest and she is able to steady herself while holding on to his shoulders, her arms swinging around his neck while he laughs against her ear.</p><p>„Cold, huh?“</p><p>„Oh shut up“.</p><p>And in the moment she can feel his arms around her waist and his body holding her close to him, always over the surface of this kind of scary sea she remembers why she wanted to do this just minutes ago. <em>Because of him.</em></p><p>„Better?“, he asks quieter this time, his voice barely a whisper over the sound of breaking waves around them and she watches the moonlight on his partly wet face and how the small water drops seem to sparkle in this lightning. He oddly looks like he is made of marble in this moment and she realizes that her skin looks exactly the same.</p><p>
  <em>Never let me go, Archie. Never let me go and I promise I won’t let go as well.</em>
</p><p>She leans forward as an answer, pulling him in for a kiss. There is a loving but also wanting side of Archie in every kiss they ever had and she loves how she can feel it in this one as well.</p><p>So she wraps her legs around his body, totally amazed by the feeling of the cooling water around them and enjoys the shivers on both of their wet skins.</p><p>Betty and Archie had a lot of first times together. First best friend, first kiss, first school and Betty loves how she keeps on experiencing new first times whenever she spends time with him. Loving Archie will never get old, will always be exiting and thrilling and the thought of that makes her smile against his lips.</p><p>
  <em>He tastes like salt, looks like marble and feels like home.</em>
</p><p>And she loves everything about it.</p><p>They stay like this for what feels like forever, bodies pressed against each other, skin gliding over the smooth and wet surface of the deep water, excitement and pleasant serenity balancing each other out like the moon and the ocean.</p><p>This has to be one of the most stupid but also one of the most romantic things Betty ever did in her life and the realization of that curves a smile on her lips while she feels his reaction to it in the way he pulls away for a bit, his dark eyes watching her through the shadows of the night.</p><p>Maybe it’s because everything is cold or dark or even unknown but something about this place is drawing Betty’s full attention to the guy right in front of her and suddenly the waves around her disappear and fade into the background, everything she sees, feels or wants is the closeness to the person she loves the most in this world.</p><p>She didn’t even realize that she started to shiver until the smile on Archie’s lips returns, paired with his right hand that slides over her shoulder and arm, leaving a trail of water on her skin. “Maybe we should get out of the water…”.</p><p>Her answer is a soft nod, thankfulness for his suggestion mirroring in her relieved and shaking exhalation.</p><p>They leave the water together, holding hands while grabbing the towels from the sand and she laughs about his wet hair while he laughs about her chattering teeth.</p><p>There is something purely prepossessing in the way he watches her in the dark or the fact she can feel his eyes on her on the way back to the house, the silence of the night surrounding them in a calming but electric way.</p><p>When they walk back into the villa and leave a trail of water on the pretty marble floor, it’s clear they can’t go sleeping like this.</p><p>So, she turns around while he grabs both of their bags in the living room and they look at each other for a long moment, having a whole conversation expressed through their eyes.</p><p>He raises an eyebrow. <em>How about we take a shower…</em></p><p>Her answer is a nod. <em>Would be the best.</em></p><p>He winks at her. <em>Together?</em></p><p>And she simply agrees with a silent laugh, ending the wordless conversation with an obvious answer. <em>Together.</em></p><p> </p><p>This is the first night they take a shower together.</p><p>She doesn’t even know why they never did this before, but the answer is they simply never had the time to do it.</p><p>Standing side by side in this big floor-level shower should be sensual and erotic – <em>at least that’s what she had expected the times she pictured a moment like this</em> – and to be fair, it started out that way. But the second Archie gets shampoo in his eyes and she almost skids over the slippery floor, the situation turns into something much more realistic and funnier.</p><p>She can’t help but laugh while she tries to wash the shampoo out of his eyes, and he looks at her with the most honest smile after that. And just like that everything feels as simple as it always has all the times they played together as kids. Their dynamic may have changed into something more romantic over the last year, but Betty and Archie are still the same people to each other that they were ten years ago.</p><p>They are still learning from each other, trusting each other and understanding each other in a way that’s as simple as breathing.</p><p>“You look like ridiculous”, he tells her as she wraps her hair into a white towel right after their chaotic shower spectacle and she glares at him while looking at the huge mirror in front of them.</p><p>“And I’m supposed to take you seriously with your hair looking like <em>that</em>?”</p><p>She puts on a brave smile while he follows her gaze and stares at his wet hair before he grabs one of the towels from the heater right beside the sink. It takes him solid ten seconds to get his hair towel dry while Betty still looks like a wet rat with one towel wrapped around her body and one sitting on her head like a turban.</p><p>“You think we woke up Luke and Jessica?”, she asks while pulling the towel off her head and starting to comb the hair with an expensive looking brush from the bathroom cabinet.</p><p>“I don’t think so… this house is huge… would surprise me if they hear anything at all”.</p><p>She meets his gaze through the mirror, a well-known smirk in the corner of his mouth and she rolls her eyes, knowing damn well what he is thinking about. “Forget it… I won’t shower again tonight”.</p><p>They leave the bathroom together, stepping into their guest bedroom when he answers. “Who says you need to shower…”.</p><p>There is something breathtaking about the beige decorated room with this huge, king-sized bed and the dimly glowing bedside lamps and while Betty is just standing in the middle of the room for a moment, taking in every beautiful detail, Archie is walking towards the big window across the room, pulling the white curtains aside with one fast swing.</p><p>The second she sees him standing there, starring through the glass to the black sea, the moonlight painting the silhouette in silver lines once again, sadness is running through her veins.</p><p>Because no matter how beautiful this moment might seem… it will be taken from her again once the summer break is over and she will be starring out the window in New Haven, looking into the distance without a beloved person on the other side, just like Archie is doing in this very moment.</p><p>His words from a few hours ago circle through her mind, all the doubts about the long-distance situation and the outlook of a future of eight years without having him by her side whirling inside her like a storm.</p><p>She closes her eyes for a few seconds, tries to get her shaky breathing under control.</p><p>When she opens them again all the fears and worries are swept aside, buried in the back of her head once again and she tries to focus on the here and now with every fiber of her body.</p><p>The past and the future aren’t important right now. All that counts is the presence.</p><p>So, she takes a step forward, then another one until she is standing beside him.</p><p>The moment he looks down to her she is already on her tiptoes, lips crashing down on his, fingers buried in his hair.</p><p>And just like that the towel around her body is gone, falling to the floor just like his shorts a few seconds later and she realizes that even though their friendship will always be the most important part and base of their relationship, their romantic connection is also an always growing part of their dynamic, something that was missing for such a long time, something they maybe found too late, but also something that seems to draw them even more together than ever before.</p><p>It’s partly the nearly unbearable desire for him that pushes her against his skin but also the many voices inside her head, the doubts and worries that try to tear her away from him over and over again.</p><p>She knows she will never lose Archie. But she is trying to make sure that he won’t lose her as well.</p><p>With that, everything around them disappears and they give into each other like it was always meant to be this way. Forgotten are all apprehensions and fears, in this moment it feels like they are finally alone, finally together, finally able to shut the demons out of their minds for one night.</p><p>Betty knows that their physical connection isn’t as important as the friendship and understanding between them, but she also realizes that loving Archie in ways like this is something that seems to blend all the facets of their relationship together.</p><p>Archie can be <em>strong</em> which shows in the way he pushes her on the mattress, the look on his face filled with desire.</p><p>Betty can be <em>controlling</em>, because as soon as her body lands on the soft bed she reaches up and pulls him down to her. </p><p>As strong as Archie can be, the <em>weaker</em> he gets when she touches parts of his body that cause him to close his eyes in an almost devoted way as she switches places with him, sitting on his lap while pushing his chest to the bed. </p><p>Archie’s <em>unyielding</em> side shows when he sits back up again, his fingers pressing into the soft skin of her back, moving down her body to pull her closer into him, not giving up the fight over control in this moment.</p><p>And that’s the part Betty’s <em>compliant</em> side shows while she is almost surrendering to his touch, nearly biting in his shoulder while he pushes into her, letting her and probably even himself forgetting every bad thought they had in their minds today.</p><p>When Betty and Archie sleep together, all their characteristics seem to show even more, blending together like a picture of many colors, painted as easy as the love in their eyes.</p><p> </p><p>•••</p><p> </p><p>The week at the beach house turns out to be one of the best weeks in their whole lives.</p><p>Most days start with breakfast on Luke’s back porch when they sit all together at the small, white table and eat some bagels from the bakery down the street. The four of them are together most of the time, laying on the beach for hours, playing video games on the gigantic TV in the living room or spend the evenings with drinking beer and wine.</p><p>Sometimes they go to the restaurant down the street, most of the time all four of them, but sometimes just Luke and Jessica by themselves.</p><p>Betty and Archie sleep a lot together during this time. The summer feeling, warm temperatures and carefree days are putting both of them in an almost permanently happy mood which seems to affect their time alone in a positive way.</p><p>On the third day, they have sex at the ocean for the very first time. </p><p>They shower together again, this time without any shampoo accidents or silly jokes, just the two of them under the hot water pouring down from shower head. It’s the first time both of them take over an hour in the bathroom but Betty doesn’t even care for anything anymore, expect the feeling of her back against the shower wall, heated water running down her body with Archie’s skin pressed against hers in a needy and impatient way.</p><p>On the fourth day they are laying on the couch while Luke and Jessica spent some time at the beach outside, some old sitcom playing on the huge flat screen, when Betty’s phone display lights up.</p><p>Her head is laying on Archie’s lap and he reaches forward, grabbing her phone without really thinking about it. He hands it to her after a few seconds, his voice sounding neutral but a bit off.</p><p>“Who is Evan Campbell?”</p><p>The question catches her off guard, but not because she wants to hide her new acquaintances from him, it’s more the fact that Evan hasn’t even crossed her mind for the last week and hearing from him now is reminding her that this little vacation is temporary and she has to return to New Haven sooner or later.</p><p>She takes the phone Archie reaches her and looks at the display.</p><p><em>“Here some new computational techniques… pretty sure this will play a huge role next semester, so you’ll better take a look at this </em>😉<em>” – </em><b><em>Evan Campbell, 02:35 pm.</em></b></p><p>His message is short with a PDF file attached to it, just like the simple information or documents he has been sending her over the last few weeks to help her with school stuff.</p><p>“He’s a student from my math class”, Betty replies while putting her phone back on the couch beside him, her face returning to the TV at the other side of the room.</p><p>It’s silent for a moment before Archie speaks again. “So… he’s helping you with math?”</p><p>Other people probably wouldn’t even notice it, but Betty hears the hint of jealousy buried under his curiosity. She turns her head and looks up to him, watches how his eyes rest on her face. </p><p>“Yes… and he’s pretty good at it to be honest.”</p><p>Archie looks as relaxed as he can be in this moment, but she can tell there are much more emotions hiding under the bland look on his face. “Is it some kind of study group or…?”</p><p>She can’t help but laugh about his question, sitting up so she can talk to him on eye level, brushing the hair out of her face while crossing her legs beside him. “No, it’s not a group… it’s just the two of us. But why is that important?”</p><p>“It’s not… I’m just curious.” He plays it cool and she wonders if he knows how obvious his feelings are written on his face. “So, when did that start… I mean I knew you had a few problems with the study material from time to time, but I didn’t think it was something that serious”.</p><p>Guilt is rising in her chest, partly because she probably should have told him about her problems with math during the phone or in her mails, partly because of the slightly disappointed look on his composed face.</p><p>“Math isn’t as easy as it was on Riverdale High”, she explains. “And Jane couldn’t help me with it, so I asked Evan… he is something like the genius in our class”.</p><p>“And he said yes just like that?”, is Archie’s direct response. She watches how he raises his brows, surprise but most importantly amusement showing on his face.</p><p>“Yes…”.</p><p>“And he is doing this for free? No payback? Nothing in return?”</p><p>This is the point where anger is rising in Betty’s chest and she tries her best to stay neutral about this, tries to look at this situation from Archie’s point of view. “Look, I know I probably should have told you about him, but to be honest I couldn’t even stand him for the first few months, I mean he was, no to be fair he still is a jerk and an arrogant ass from time to time but he helps me a lot with school stuff and took care of me when I was sick and Jane says it’s good to have more than one friend and…”.</p><p>The words fade in her mouth as the look on his face changes from curiosity to something darker. “Wait… he took care of you when you were sick?”</p><p>Silence stands between them for a long moment while she tries to find the right words to say. “Yes, he did. Jane was gone for the weekend and there wasn’t anyone there, so she called him and told him to check on me… and to be honest, I’m kind of glad he did because I was literally <em>miserable</em> that night”.</p><p>“That <em>night</em>?”, he replies, dismay painted on his face. “You’re telling me he stayed in your room or-”.</p><p>Before he can add anything else, she interrupts him. “Hey, Archie listen”. Her words are a bit louder than before but still so soft that she is able to bring a bit receptiveness back to his face.</p><p>“Why the hell are we even talking about this?”, she says calmly. “I understand that I should have told you about Evan, but you wanna know why I didn’t? Because it wasn’t important enough to me… yes, he is something like a friend to me and yes, he came into my room to help me. He gave me some fever medicine, made sure I drink enough water and then he left… that’s all.”</p><p>He watches her with an unreadable look on his face, his eyes looked with hers the entire time she speaks.</p><p>And then, after solid ten seconds he answers her. “I’m sorry”.</p><p>His words sound honest and sincere as he seems to realize how silly it is to discuss something unimportant like this. “God, Betty I… I know you’re telling me everything that is important to you and sometimes this whole long-distance thing with phone calls and text messages can get a little stressful. I guess I’m just not used to the fact that you can have other male friends…  after all, I have been your best friend for over a decade now”.</p><p>“You’re <em>still</em> my best friend”, she says while putting as much meaning into her words as possible. There is something pure in her words, something innocent like a five-year-old Betty Cooper could say the exact same thing to a little Archie Andrews, telling him that they are best friends from now on.</p><p>The smile in the curve of Archie’s mouth tells her that everything is back to normal between them<em>… at least for now.</em></p><p>So, she leans forwards, is letting herself fall against him before he catches her with his arms, and she smiles against his lips as they share a kiss much sweeter than the last few times before.</p><p>“Just to clarify it…”, he mumbles against her lips. “I’m <em>more</em> than your best friend”.</p><p>She rolls her eyes while they break apart, slowly shaking her head in an amused way.</p><p>
  <em>Yes, you are.</em>
</p><p>“Hmm… not sure about that”.</p><p>She loves how he knows how to change her mind as he seals her lips with his once again, leaning into her like he is screaming his words over and over again, the echo of his voice reverberating in the back of her head.</p><p>
  <em>We were always more than just friends.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>•••</p><p> </p><p>They decide to invite Luke and Jessica to dinner at their last day as a Thank You for the week at the beach house.</p><p>It’s already evening when Betty and Archie are standing at the beach one more time, waiting for Luke and Jessica to join them on their way to the restaurant down the street.</p><p>“I’m sad we’re leaving tomorrow”, Betty admits with her hair flying in the warm summer wind, her naked feet buried in the golden sand, her eyes directed to the setting sun over the wide horizon. </p><p>Archie beside her shifts, his arm suddenly laying on her shoulders, pulling her in his direction in a soft move. She closes her eyes as she feels his lips putting a short kiss on the top of her hair.</p><p>“It was a great week”, Archie admits, following her gaze, watching the blue sky turn to orange from minute to minute. “I’m glad that I found Luke at the Academy… and I don’t mean because of this right here… I mean he is a great friend”.</p><p>The blonde girl simply nods, smiling a bit while she rests her head against his shoulder. “I know. He is a good guy”.</p><p>They stay like this for a few minutes, simply enjoying the beauty of the sunset right before their eyes, taking everything in one last time. The smell of summer in the air, the taste of salt on their lips, the warmth of the last run rays on their skin.</p><p>Around 7pm the sun disappears behind the horizon and paints the world around them in darker colors. They go back inside, step into the living room and are about to sit on the couch to wait for their friends.</p><p>That’s them moment Luke and Jessica come down the stairs.</p><p>“Hey, ready for dinner?” Archie’s voice fades away as Jessica walks past them without a word, grabbing her purse from the kitchen table on her way, nearly running out the front door without any explanation.</p><p>
  <em>What the hell was that?</em>
</p><p>Betty’s face turns to Luke who is now standing beside them in the living room, hands in the pockets of his jeans, the red color ins his eyes revealing much more than he obviously wants.</p><p>“Hey, Luke. What’s going on?” Archie is the one breaking the short silence.</p><p>A heartbreaking laugh escapes the blonde guys lips. “I… it’s over, dude. I guess… I think we just broke up”. He turns away, walking into the kitchen area and Betty’s eyes meet Archie’s for a second before he goes after him.</p><p>That’s when Betty decides to go after Jessica.</p><p>She leaves the two boys in the house and runs through the front door, hurrying across the parking lot just in time to catch Jessica before she leaves. The black-haired girl is about to get in her car when she sees Betty walking in her direction.</p><p>“Hey…”. There wasn’t really time for Betty to think about the words she wants to say to her. “Are you alright?”</p><p>Jessica turns around, dried tears on her cheeks, a broken smile on her lips. “Do I look <em>alright</em>?”</p><p>
  <em>Shit.</em>
</p><p>“Do… do you want to talk about it?” <em>God that sounds so bad</em>. “I mean we don’t really know each other… but…”. She shrugs her shoulders timidly, trying to show the girl in front of her that she is compassionated and caring.</p><p>There is a long moment of silence between them when Jessica seems to think about an answer for that, the sky turning darker above them with every minute that passes by.</p><p>“I guess it wasn’t really a surprise”. When she finally speaks, her voice doesn’t sound so broken like before. “I mean we tried to keep this long-distance thing up as long as we could, you know? But it’s just not the same anymore… I…”.</p><p>That’s the first time Jessica really looks at her and Betty can see devastation and weariness in her eyes.</p><p>“I… I really loved Luke. And he knows it, he knows it…”. For a moment it sounds like she is talking to herself, like she is trying to convince herself that her words are true. “But things change and… you can’t pretend… you just can’t pretend that everything is alright… we did it a whole year and look at us now”.</p><p>Jessica looks up for a moment, probably starring at the appearing stars at the dark blue sky above them while new tears roll down her cheeks.</p><p>“I know that there are couples out there that survive long-distance relationships”. Her eyes fall back on Betty and its the first time she seems to talk directly to her instead to herself. “But let me tell you… there is a reason why most of those relationships don’t work out. It has nothing to do with not loving someone… <em>nothing</em>. Because I swear to you, I never believed in love in the first place. But then… I met Luke and he… he made me question every single one of my believes. He made me realize that love exists, and I fell in love with him.”</p><p>There is another tear that rolls down her cheek, shining in the light from the moon and stars above. “And then High School was over, and he confessed to me that he wants to join the Navy… and of course I wasn’t quite happy with that but that doesn’t matter, does it? Because I loved him so I let him go and we promised to each other that this would work, that our relationship would survive all those years of distance”.</p><p>When another tear falls to her face Betty wants to hug her, but her body seems to be frozen, everything she is capable of is listening to the broken voice of the woman in front of her.</p><p>“I know that he hates everything that reminds him of his father…”, Jessica adds with pain in her words. “That’s why he wanted to join the Navy in the first place… he wanted to take another direction than his dad did. And I can’t blame him for that, I… I just wish things would have turned out differently… I wish the distance between us wouldn’t have been this hard. I wish it would have been easier to keep up the contact between us. I wish… I just wish we wouldn’t have started to walk in different directions after the High School ended”.</p><p>There is a beat of silence between them and Jessica opens the door of her car, throwing her little bag on the passenger seat.</p><p>When she looks back to Betty her eyes seem empty, like the sadness and anger disappeared and only numbness remained.</p><p>“I know that you and Archie are in a pretty similar situation, Betty”, she says. “And I’m not saying that just because this didn’t work for me and Luke means it won’t work for you two as well. I mean I have watched you two together these last few days and I know what real love looks like… you two have that.”</p><p>She reaches up and wipes a tear from her cheek, obviously searching for the right words to say. “I’m just saying that sometimes love just isn’t enough. It’s normal to meet new people, it’s also normal to like your new friends, your new home or simply your whole new life… and I tried to ignore it for a good amount of time… but it got harder and harder to maintain the relationship with Luke, because if you want that or not… you’ll live apart. It’s just normal”.</p><p>Jessica turns her head one last time, starring at the beautiful beach house behind them, a devastated but also relieved look on her face.</p><p>“I like you and Archie”, she says as she turns back to Betty. “But be aware of the fact that he is a part of the Naval Academy now. And he will be a part of them for a long time from now on.”</p><p>She tries to smile at her one last time, but sadness and commiseration is written all over her face. “And that Betty… that will stand between you forever”.</p><p>That’s the last thing Jessica says before she gets inside the car and all Betty can do is stand there and watch her drive away into the dark, her head spinning in the rhythm of the beating of her shocked heart.</p><p> </p><p>A few minutes pass by until the blonde girl is finally able to turn around. She is walking back to the villa in slow motion, the words of the pretty brunette girl ringing in her ears as she steps back inside the living room.</p><p>She finds Luke and Archie sitting at the table on the back porch, the only light coming from the candles in the middle of the white desk.</p><p>“Hey”. Her own voice sounds strange as she speaks and she is letting herself fall on the chair on the empty side of the table, her eyes watching Luke and Archie across from her.</p><p>“Is she gone?” Luke sounds dejected as he speaks to her and all she can do is nod. “Yes…”.</p><p>For a moment he says nothing, but when he speaks his words seem determined. “It’s probably for the best”.</p><p>Silence follows and they just sit there in the dark, the small light of the few candles painting shadows on their faces. This isn’t how Betty had imagined their last night to be.</p><p>“I’m sorry you two had to witness that”, Luke adds after a while, grabbing the beer from the table in front of him.</p><p><em>Don’t be;</em> she wants to say but the words from Jessica are still echoing through her mind like the words of a ghost, a curse haunting her since she drove off into the night.</p><p>„I’m sorry, Luke“. Archie’s words sound honest and sad and she watches how the two guys share a eye contact before Luke just shrugs his shoulders one again.</p><p>„I kind of knew it was gonna happen… things felt different these last few months. Maybe I didn’t want to admit it back then… maybe I just wanted it to work at all costs“. There is so much pain in his defeated words that Betty has to tear her eyes away from the heartbroken guy in front of her.</p><p>„The thing that hurts the most is that nothing major happened between us that would cause a normal break up you know? Nothing bad happened… it just… everything just changed over this last year. She felt it, I felt it too… and I guess at one point we couldn’t pretend anymore. You start to live your own life… and you start wondering why you even care to look back at your past along the way. This may sound harsh but… there is a point where letting go is much simpler than holding on with all your strength.“</p><p>Luke takes a sip from the beer in his hands, underlining his depressing words. „I guess all of this became too stressful… too hard. Maybe we weren’t meant to survive a long-distance relationship… I mean I have to do my service for the Naval for five years after the scholarship… I couldn’t expect her to wait for me all these years“.</p><p>He puts the bottle back down on the table, his words lingering in the air. „I guess setting each other free was the only right way“.</p><p>These are the last words Luke says about this for the rest of the evening and the three of them just sit there in the dark, all of them lost in their own thoughts.</p><p>There are a lot of voices in Betty’s head the following minutes, Jessicas words still circling through her mind in an uncontrollable speed.</p><p>
  <em>„Be aware of the fact that he is a part of the Naval Academy now. And he will be a part of them for a long time from now on. And that Betty… that will stand between you forever”.</em>
</p><p>Betty tried to avoid thinking about these fears and insecurities for a long time, always reminding herself that everything will be fine in the end and her and Archie will survive the obstacles that a long-distance relationship brings… but she never witnessed a breakup like that from Luke and Jessica before.</p><p>And suddenly all those little moments where she felt worries, doubts or even fear in her heart whenever she had to leave Archie again are crushing down on her, reminding her that just because she puts those feelings in a box in the back of her mind, won’t make them magically disappear.</p><p>Maybe she never thought about the fact that Archie would have to serve the Navy for more years after his scholarship, because she never allowed her mind to go to such a dark place.</p><p>The fact is, leaving Archie over and over again, missing him for most of the time and trying to ignore the feeling of missing out whenever he spends time with his new friends, is almost unbearably sometimes.</p><p>She tried her best to focus on the weekends they had planned together, on their phone calls or text messages… but that Archie will be gone far longer than for four years is something that was never so clear to her than in this moment.</p><p>With a fast beating heart and complete silence in her head, Betty’s face turns up again and she stares across the table, looking at Archie’s dark silhouette which is outlined with the red light of the candles in front of him.</p><p>Just like he can feel her eyes on him, he lifts his face and stares right back at her, his dark eyes boring into hers through the shadows of the night.</p><p>That’s when she knows.</p><p>She sees by the way he is looking at her, that the thoughts in his head are pretty similar to her own, that there is some unspoken problem between them, something that was always there but never mentioned in this last year.</p><p>They both know that this situation is harder than they thought it would be and that this problem isn’t just going away within the next months.</p><p>This is something they’ll have to live with for the next seven years until Archie’s time at the Academy is over and he can return from his years of service.</p><p>She can read all of that in the emotions written on his shadowed face, but she doesn’t miss the one feeling they share as well.</p><p>Because he is looking at her with so much love in his eyes, just like she is looking back at him.</p><p>That’s when she knows they are screwed.</p><p>
  <em>They love each other. They love each other so much.</em>
</p><p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space"><em>But</em> he will spent the next years in Maryland, she will stay in New Haven. The current situation won't get better over time, it will probably get even worse. The distance between them won't just simply go away.</span>
</p><p>And it doesn’t even matter what they do… these next few years are going to hurt like hell.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. From Expectations And Heartbreaks</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>„Sometimes,</b>
</p><p>
  <b>we create our own heartbreaks</b>
</p><p>
  <b>through expectations“</b>
</p><p>
  <b>- Egypt_TheGoodVibe</b>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The summer break of 2021 goes by like a fast passing train.</p><p>Extremely fast, without a break and passed by before you know it.</p><p>Returning to New Haven feels less than a fresh start this time, but much more like some sort of Homecoming.</p><p>Betty hugs Jane once the two girls meet in the hallway in front of their dorm room and they spent hours talking about their summer vacations.</p><p>“It was amazing to be back home for a few days”, the brunette girl says while stuffing the clothes from her bag back into her closet. “I missed my parents… and I missed Oliver. It was great to spend some time with him again”.</p><p>Betty watches her roommate for a few seconds, her fingertips tapping on the mattress she is sitting on, her eyes directed to the floor. “But… wasn’t it hard for you to leave him again?”, she slowly asks, her voice steady but low. “I mean… doesn’t it feel devastating and… maybe a bit exhausting to part ways over and over again?”</p><p>Jane turns around to her and she can feel her brown eyes lingering on her face.</p><p>“No, not really”, the brunette says and after a short break, she adds: “I mean, yes… it’s quite annoying that I can only see him once every month… but I love Oliver. And that makes everything else seem unimportant”.</p><p>Silence spreads between them, a long moment filled with unspoken words.</p><p>“Why do you ask?” Jane’s simply question leads Betty to finally look at her. “Is everything alright?”</p><p>“Yes… of course”. Her answer sounds shallow and they both know it.</p><p>Jane grabs another shirt from her bag, slowly folding the material in her hands. “You know you can always talk to me, right? Even if it is about Archie”.</p><p>They lock eyes for a long moment, the understanding and gratefulness written on both of their faces.</p><p>“I know, Jane… thank you”.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>•••</b>
</p><p> </p><p>The time after their summer vacation feels a bit surreal.</p><p>Like the days they spent at the beach woke all the unspoken feelings between Betty and Archie all at once, fears and worries circling around them like curses from a past they try to hold on to and from a future they’re scared of.</p><p>Betty knows that the breakup between Luke and Jessica doesn’t have anything to do with her relationship with Archie.</p><p>But watching something devastating as that right in front of her eyes brought Betty’s own insecurities and doubts back to the surface. Feeling she tried to ignore for a long time are suddenly in her head since the they she left the beach house again, haunting her day and night.</p><p>“I’ll miss you”, she had mumbled against Archie’s neck during their last hug, right before she left and drove back to New Haven.</p><p>“I know…”, was his quiet response, his arms wrapped around her in such a strong way it seemed like he feared she would slip out of his grip any second. “… I’ll miss you too”.</p><p>Two months have passed since their last goodbye and it’s the middle of August when Betty finds out their will be a party at her campus in two weeks.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p><b> <em>19</em> </b> <b> <em> <sup>th</sup> </em> </b> <b> <em> August 2021</em> </b></p>
  <p>
    <b>  </b>
  </p>
  <p>
    <b> <em>Archie!</em> </b>
  </p>
  <p>
    <b> <em>I couldn’t reach you on the phone, so I guess you’re in the middle of a training session or something. I have news!</em> </b>
  </p>
  <p>
    <b> <em>There will be a party on the first September weekend here in New Haven, it’s some kind of semester event from my year.</em> </b>
  </p>
  <p>
    <b> <em>What I’m trying to say is that it would mean a lot to me, if you could come… as far as I know a lot of the students will bring their boyfriend and girlfriends with them and I would love to show you Yale, Arch.</em> </b>
  </p>
  <p>
    <b> <em>Call me when you read this, alright?</em> </b>
  </p>
  <p>
    <b>  </b>
  </p>
  <p>
    <b> <em>Love you</em> </b>
  </p>
</blockquote><p> </p><p>He calls her back the next day and his answer puts the biggest smile on her face.</p><p>“Of course, I’ll come”, is his promise. “Can’t wait to see you there”.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>•••</b>
</p><p> </p><p>The next two weeks go by slowly. With the new semester slowly increasing in speed and new learning materials starting to get heavy, everything else seems to blend into the background for a little while.</p><p>Betty studies with Jane from time to time and at the end of August she sees Evan again.</p><p>They meet in the library and he is already waiting for her at their usual table, smiling while opening an old book. “Hey Cooper”.</p><p>“Hey”. She is a bit breathless while she sits down at the other side of the table. “Haven seen you in a few weeks… how was your summer?”</p><p>“Great”, he simply replies, watching her pull some documents and pencils out of her bag. “I’ve been home most of the time. New York is beautiful during the summer months”.</p><p>“I bet it is”.</p><p>“What about you? How was your time at the beach?”</p><p>“Well…”. She finally places her last book on the table in front of her, her eyes really looking back at him for the first time. “It was… amazing”. Her words sound a bit empty, so she adds: “I mean it was fantastic… a great time, really… just beautiful”.</p><p>Something in his eyes tells her he can hear the dubious sound in her words and his following question is making it clear that Betty Cooper isn’t a good liar. “You’re sure everything is alright?”</p><p>“Yes”. Maybe her answer comes out a bit to fast, but she doesn’t care. She opens the book in front of her, faking her best smile while searching for the right page. “So… what’s the new topic?”</p><p>She can feel his eyes on her for a few seconds before he replies. “Page 116”.</p><p>They never talk about the summer vacations again after that and she is more than glad about it.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>•••</b>
</p><p> </p><p>On Friday the 3rd September Betty meets Jane’s boyfriend Oliver for the very first time.</p><p>He is a tall guy with blonde curls on his head and a wide smile on his face while he walks into their dorm room around midday.</p><p>“Nice place”, he says while looking around the small room, hands in the pockets of his wide jeans while Betty remembers that Jane told her that Oliver never went to college, he stayed in North Carolina to help his dad with their family business.</p><p>“Yeah, it’s quite alright… but we’ll be staying in the Motel down the street for tonight”, Jane says to him. “Betty is also expecting a guest and we can’t share this room with four people”.</p><p>The brunette girl shares a short kiss with Oliver before she turns around to Betty. “So when will Archie be here?”</p><p>“Around 8pm”, Betty replies with an honest smile on her face.</p><p>“Just in time for the party”, Jane says.</p><p>
  <em>Yes, just in time.</em>
</p><p>Betty stares at her phone, reading Archie’s last message once again.</p><p><em>I’ll leave around 3 so I should be in New Haven around 8 – </em> <b> <em>Archie Andrews, 11:54 am</em> </b></p><p>There is a bundle of joy in her chest whenever she thinks about him finally visiting New Haven for the first time and she is starring at the clock on the wall, counting down the hours until he’ll finally arrive.</p><p> </p><p>Jane leaves with Oliver a few minutes after his arrival, hugging Betty before leaving the room. “I’ll see you later… you better wear that cute new dress you bought this spring; I don’t want to be the only person who dresses up like crazy, you understand me?”</p><p>Betty laughs against Janes ear as they part again. “Yes, Jane. I promise”.</p><p>And so, the day goes on while Betty passes time with cleaning her side of the room a little bit.</p><p>At 4 pm she turns on her laptop to watch some old sitcoms, her eyes wandering to the clock on the wall from time to time while the anticipation on her grows.</p><p>At 5 pm she jumps into the shower, singing under the warm water running down her body, memories of her and Archie crossing her mind.</p><p>At 6 pm she tries to curl her hair while doing her make up at the same time, totally overwhelmed with multi-tasking and she almost ends up burning a strand of her hair off with the burning hot curling iron.</p><p>At 7 pm she stands in front of her closet, starring at every peace of clothing in it before grabbing the dark blue dress she already knew she was going to wear tonight.</p><p>At 8 pm she sits on her bed with the joy and anticipation in her stomach almost eating her alive while she waits for Archie to arrive any second.</p><p>At 8:30 pm she tries to call him, wondering if he might be stuck in traffic on his way here.</p><p>At 9 pm she calls him for the fifth time, her eyes closing with anger while she gets send to his voicemail like the times before.</p><p>At 9:30 pm she sends him a message while grabbing her bag from the table, leaving the room with way more anger and sadness than she had originally planned.</p><p><em>I guess you’re stuck in traffic… I’m gonna go to the party now and send you the address from there. See you there… drive safe, Arch – </em> <b> <em>Betty Cooper, 9:34 pm</em> </b></p><p>There is a weird feeling in her chest as she walks through the corridors and leaves the campus all alone, listening to the silence of this starry night, wondering how she even ended up in a situation like this.</p><p>The semester party is at a restaurant in the downtown area of New Haven, a place called “<em>Backroom Bar</em>” which seems to be a noble restaurant over the day but can be turned into a room filled with dancing people at night. People actually need to be over 21 to be allowed in this bar, but since this is an official University meeting, Yale books the whole place for this one-evening-event, automatically allowing everyone inside, no matter the age.</p><p>There is already loud music coming through the door as Betty walks into the building. At first, she is a bit overwhelmed by all the people on the dance floor to the left but then she spots Jane and Oliver on the other side of the room, sitting at the huge black bar while chatting to a group of other people.</p><p>She walks through the big room, starring at the blue fairy lights hanging on the ceiling and admiring the beauty of the wooden furnishings as she finally appears beside Jane, hugging her friend in greeting.</p><p>“Hey… where is Archie?” The music is loud, but Betty can still hear the confusion in Jane’s voice.</p><p>“He isn’t here yet”, she explains, trying her best to sound unbothered. “Probably stuck in traffic…”.</p><p><em>Keep it cool</em>; she tells herself. <em>He will be here in a few minutes</em>.</p><p>But she knows by the look on Janes face that she doesn’t seem as relaxed as she wanted to.</p><p>“It’s probably because of all the traffic around New York”, Jane agrees, obviously trying to cheer her up a bit. “You know what? Don’t think about that right now… we are here, and we’ll have fun, alright?”</p><p>The brunette girl turns around and grabs her drink from the table behind her. “Here… drink”.</p><p>“What’s that?”</p><p>“Does it really matter?”</p><p>They stare at each other for a moment until Betty just shrugs her shoulders, pouring down the whole drink in one second. “Wow… strong”, she mumbles, amazed how Jane managed it to acquire alcohol in a place like this.</p><p>“Oliver is already 21”, Jane explains with a little smirk. “So, if you want something to drink… just ask”.</p><p>And so the night begins way different than Betty had imagined.</p><p>She sits beside Jane and Oliver for the first hour, drinking several cocktails, her phone always in her hand, her eyes lingering on the screen from minute to minute, desperately waiting for some signs of life from Archie.</p><p>It was probably a bad idea to tell the people around that her boyfriend would come tonight as well. Maybe she did it because she was sick of the people that wouldn’t even believe her she has a boyfriend in the first place, maybe because she was so exited to have him here that she wanted to scream it from the roof tops of New Haven.</p><p>All of that seems like a nightmare the moment people come up to Betty, asking where her boyfriend is.</p><p>
  <em>He’s not here yet.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He’ll be here soon.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The traffic is awful tonight.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>At 11 pm she calls him again.</p><p>
  <em>“Hey, here is Archie Andrews. I’m not available at the moment, but you can leave a message after…”.</em>
</p><p>She let’s out a quiet scream filled with anger while she puts the phone back into her pocket this time, disappointment but all above concern boiling in her blood.</p><p>“Still no sign from him?”, Jane asks beside her, and she simply shakes her head as an answer, grabbing her drink from the table while standing up.</p><p>“I have to get some air”.</p><p>“Should I come with you?” Jane is about to stand up, but Betty just shakes her head, a mild smile on her lips. “No… no, it’s alright. I’ll be back in two minutes”.</p><p>With that she turns around and makes her way through the dancing crowd, her cocktail glass still in her hands as she reaches the glass door of the building.</p><p>She is about to leave the place as she sees a familiar face on the dance floor, a good-looking, black-haired guy with a white shirt and dark jeans dancing to some old pop song in a weird but almost adorable way.</p><p>As soon as the brown eyes of the man on the dance floor meet hers, he stops dancing and walks in her direction in an almost shy and embarrassed way.</p><p>“I didn’t know Evan Campbell can dance”, she shouts over the loud music as he stops in front of her with the most embarrassed smile on his face. His hair looks wilder than usual and his whole presence feels a bit lighter than the times before.</p><p>“Hey, in my defense… I was forced to do it”. He laughs over his own answer as he looks at the cocktail in her hands.</p><p>For a moment he doesn’t say anything and just looks around, obviously searching for something or someone, before his eyes fall back down to her. “I don’t want to be bash or anything… but didn’t you say your boyfriend would come too?”</p><p>And there it is again - the feeling of worry is circling inside her like an unbearable wave of concern.</p><p>
  <em>He should have been here three hours ago… what if something bad happened to him?</em>
</p><p>“I…”, she begins but that’s the moment she can feel her phone vibrating in her pocket. It doesn’t even take two seconds until she has the phone pulled out of the bag and is starring at the screen.</p><p><em>I’m sorry I’m late… I had to take care of something important. I’m at a gas station right now, I’ll be there in half an hour – </em> <b> <em>Archie Andrews, 11:21 pm</em> </b></p><p>She stares at the message for what feels like forever, the words <em>I had to take care of something important</em> almost screaming at her face over and over again.</p><p>All the worries she had about him seem to fade away within seconds and all that is left is the anger about his absence.</p><p>She stuffs the phone back in her pocket in an almost aggressive way, puts the cocktail glass to her lips and empties the whole jar in one beat.</p><p>“Hey Betty, wait, maybe you shouldn’t drink that much, you…”, Evan begins with a bit concern in his words but she just shakes her head, her blonde curls falling around her face while the heat of the crowded room seems to get to her head.</p><p>“I don’t care”, she simply states, looking back at him with so much conviction that he immediately shuts his mouth.</p><p>“Alright, alright…”, he simply replies while putting his hands up in a surrendering way. “So… you want to dance?”</p><p>She looks up to him for a long moment, thinking about how long she waited for this night and how much she had been looking forward to it.</p><p>“Yes”, she says. “I want to dance… I want to drink… I want to have fun”.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>•••</b>
</p><p> </p><p>The 3<sup>rd</sup> September begins for Archie Andrews like every other day at the Naval Academy.</p><p>He wakes up at 6 in the morning to get to his first training session at 7, jogging through the whole area with his class for solid three hours.</p><p>They have outdoor training the whole morning and he is more than glad once he is standing under the shower, washing off all the sweat from the hours before.</p><p>He eats lunch with Luke and smiles like a dork while starring at his mobile phone.</p><p>“God, sometimes you’re just so disgustingly in love”, Luke says to him, pure horror painted on his face while he watches him eating his sandwich. “You’re leaving right after the last lecture today, right?”</p><p>“Yes”, is Archie’s answer as he types a message into his phone. “Be honest… you’re glad I’ll leave you for a few days”.</p><p>“Maybe”. Luke laughs as an answer, rolling his eyes as Archie hits send.</p><p><em>I’ll leave around 3 so I should be in New Haven around 8 – </em> <b> <em>Archie Andrews, 11:54 am</em> </b></p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>It’s 3 o’clock to the minute when Archie leaves his classroom with fast steps, almost hurrying down the corridor to his room. He pulls the key out of his pocket to open his dorm room when his phone rings.</p><p>“Hello?” He finally opens the door when he answers the call.</p><p>“Hey, Archie. It’s Sarah”. Her voice sounds like a grater and he almost freezes in place listening to her words. “I hope I don’t bother you right now, but do you have a minute?”</p><p>“Ehm… yes, sure. What’s up?”, he asks while walking through the room and grabbing his bag from the side of his bed.</p><p>“You remember this one important gig I got a hold of last month? It’s this performance on this birthday I talked about… and I don’t know if you remember, but that gig is today”.</p><p>Of course, he remembers. Every time he saw Sarah the last two months, she talked about this evening. It’s her first real gig, her first performance on a real event. This one man who visited the Middletown Tavern a few times obviously liked her band so much, that he hired her and her brother for a performance on his 50<sup>th</sup> birthday. Archie knows that she had this gig coming up, but he forgot that it was supposed to be today.</p><p>“Yeah… I remember”, he answers carefully, already sensing what her next question will be. Her voice sounds destroyed due to the flue she had last week and when her singing voice sounds like her talking voice right now… well, then she’s screwed.</p><p>“This event is really important to me”, she says with a broken voice. “And you know if I sing like this, they’ll kick me out of there within a minute and… and then I can forget my dreams… I can forget <em>Vortex</em>”.</p><p>“So you…?”</p><p>“I need you to sing with me”, she says, her voice suddenly a lot thinner than before. “I… I won’t make it alone, Archie. You know I wouldn’t ask you if there was another way… but Jerry can’t sing, I mean you heard him before, and I know we work well together, we did this before…”. There is pure desperation and despair in her voice, and he closes his eyes for a moment, listening to her broken words.</p><p>He knows damn well how hard Sarah and her brother had worked for this moment. All those times they performed at the bar were great, but their goal has always been something bigger. They wanted to be a real band, a group that gets to play at weddings or birthdays. And this might be their first and only chance to get a fan group.</p><p>“Archie?”, she asks quietly.</p><p>“I’m thinking”, he replies with his eyes still closed. “At which time is the gig?”</p><p>“At 4, but it won’t be long, just one or two hours”.</p><p>Archie opens his eyes again, his gaze falling to the already packed bag in front of him.</p><p>“You don’t have something different planned tonight, do you?”, Sarah asks, and he almost laughs at her question. The only person that knows about his trip to New Haven is Luke and it’s almost silly how something like this gets in the way.</p><p>“<em>Please, Archie</em>”. There is something so fragile in her voice that breaks his decision in half.</p><p>“Alright, I’ll do it”, he says while tearing his eyes away from the packed bag on his bed.</p><p>He turns around and grabs the keys from the table while leaving the dorm room again. “Send me the address, I’ll be there in a few minutes”.</p><p> </p><p>•••</p><p> </p><p>The Birthday party turns out to be boring as hell, but Archie doesn’t even care about that. He get’s there at half past three and jumps up on the little stage, meeting Sarah and Jerry who are already waiting for him at the piano.</p><p>“Thank you… thank you so, so much, you are a true hero, Andrews”. There is honesty in Sarah’s words, and he smiles at her while grabbing the E-guitar beside him.</p><p>“No need to thank me… I know how important this thing is for you”.</p><p>They start performing a little sooner than 4 pm and the following hour Archie’s eyes are wandering to the huge clock on the wall for what feels like 100 times.</p><p>
  <em>4 pm turns to 5 pm, and 5 pm turns to 5:30.</em>
</p><p>“Just one more song”, Sarah says so to him. “One more, then we’re finished”.</p><p>And indeed, ten minutes later their gig is officially over and while Sarah is talking to the client, Archie is helping Jerry caring the equipment from the stage to their cars.</p><p>It’s 5:51 pm when he says goodbye to Sarah and Jerry on the streets.</p><p>“Thank you, Archie. You were great today… you saved our asses”; Sarah says once again while Jerry just nods. “Yeah, man… thanks a lot”.</p><p>“No problem, guys… but I really need to go now”. He waves at them one last time before jumping into the car and driving back to the Academy.</p><p>He hurries back through the corridors and meets Luke in his dorm room.</p><p>“Hey dude… what the hell are you still doing here? Don’t you need to be in New Haven at 7?!”</p><p>“No time to explain”, he shouts a bit breathless while he grabs his bag and leaves the room again.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>It’s getting dark on his way to New Haven and the sky is pitch black once he drives past New York.</p><p>The music on the radio is making him crazy over time as his fingertips tap on the wheel in a fast rhythm, so he turns the radio off after a few hours, slowly breathing in and hour to calm himself.</p><p>Maybe he didn’t thing all of this through.</p><p>One of the biggest characteristics of Archie is, that he always wants to help other people in need. He always puts the well-being of other people first, just like he did tonight.</p><p>But sitting here in this car all by himself he slowly starts to realize that he didn’t just put Sarah and Jerry first tonight… he also let Betty down in some way.</p><p>He didn’t really think about the consequences of reaches New Have a few hours sooner or later, but now that he has really the time to think about it, it dawns to him that his actions might cause bigger problems than he originally thought.</p><p>It’s already past 11 when he notices the almost empty tank of the car.</p><p>Several swears fly thought his mind as he takes the next exit and parks at the next gas station.</p><p>After paying the bill he takes a minute to look at his phone and realizes that he missed more than five calls from Betty within the last four hours.</p><p>
  <em>Shit.</em>
</p><p>He should have thought about calling or texting her that he will get to Yale later than plannend.</p><p><em>I’m sorry I’m late… I had to take care of something important. I’m at a gas station right now, I’ll be there in half an hour – </em> <b> <em>Archie Andrews, 11:21 pm</em> </b></p><p>He hates himself for making so many mistakes this evening while returning to the street in the middle of the night.</p><p>Almost 40 minutes later he <em>finally</em> reaches New Haven.</p><p>The address Betty had sent to him hours ago is easy to find but finding a parking lot is a whole other story.</p><p>When he finally parks the car and gets out on the street the clock strikes midnight.</p><p> </p><p>The city seems dark and empty but once he turns into the street of the party location, there are a lot more people standing on the sidewalk, some of them talking, a few of them even smoking some cigarettes.</p><p>He walks past them and steps through the glass entrance, his face immediately turning to a dancing crowd to his left. The music is a mixture of pop and RnB songs while he slowly walks through the crowd, trying to spot Betty in the big room.</p><p>There are some weird, blue lights hanging from the ceiling and everything seems to be expensive and noble around him, what kind of makes him feel like he is walking on the wrong planet.</p><p>If there would have to be a picture of social differences, then it would be the Naval student Archie Andrews, standing in the first-class private Bar from the Yale University.</p><p>“Betty?” He just calls her name because there is no way in hell he is ever going to find her in this huge crowd but the only people taking notice of him are the ones standing right beside him, starring at him with partly confused and partly scared faces.</p><p>He keeps walking through the room, feeling more and more underdressed in his white shirt, classic jeans and black hooded jacket with every second that goes by.</p><p>And then, <em>finally,</em> he finds a blonde girl sitting at the bar at the end of the room, her hair styled in soft curls, her body dressed in a dark blue dress and the smile on her face wide as she laughs at the words of the man sitting right beside her.</p><p><em>Betty</em>.</p><p>It takes him another minute to finally get though to the bar and the second he calls her name once again and she turns her head in his direction, she sees the smile on her pretty face fade away within seconds.</p><p>“Hey”, he says because every other word seems to leave his mind the moment she stops walking and stands right beside her bar chair.</p><p>There is something absolutely beautiful about Betty in this blue lightning and the way the dark color seems to paint itself in her eyes when she looks back at him.</p><p>“You’re late”, she replies and something about the look on her face changes drastically while she turns her face away from him.</p><p>“I know”, he says while he searches for the right words to say. “And I’m sorry for that, I-“.</p><p>“Why?”, she suddenly blurts out and when she turns back around to him, she has a cocktail glass in her small hands, her icy eyes locking with his own. “Why are you late?”</p><p>He watches how she takes a sip from the drink. “I had to help my friends with something important, Betty… I know how that sounds like, but it was an emergency”.</p><p>“What friends?”, is her next questions, no emotions showing in her voice.</p><p>“Sarah and Jerry”.</p><p>“Oh…”. She doesn’t say anything else; she simply takes another sip from her cocktail while her eyes fall to the ground and for a moment it actually looks like her whole body is about to fall to the ground as well.</p><p>
  <em>That’s when he realizes that she is drunk.</em>
</p><p>“Hey, how much did you drink?”</p><p>“None of your business…”.</p><p>He laughs at her silliness, an ironic and aghast sound coming over his lips. “I am your boyfriend, Betty, I think it is my business, even if it’s just for a little bit”.</p><p>“A boyfriend cares for his girlfriend”, she suddenly mumbles, and he stares at her for a moment until she speaks again. “A boyfriend should be there for me when I need him… and not five hours later”.</p><p>Maybe that one line actually hits him a little bit, but he tries to remember that this isn’t just Betty talking… it’s also the alcohol.</p><p>“Hey, how about we go home?”, he asks calmly. “We’ll talk about this tomorrow and…”.</p><p>“I don’t want to go home”, she immediately responses, her voice a bit higher than usual. “And I won’t go home”.</p><p>“Betty…”.</p><p>“How about if you leave her alone”, another voice suddenly says and he turns his head a little bit, starring at the guy sitting beside Betty on another bar chair.</p><p>Archie tries his best to focus on the blonde, drunk girl in front of him, but something about the look on this guy’s face is annoying him way too much. “And you are…?”, he asks.</p><p>“Evan, don’t”, Betty suddenly says. “That’s something between Archie and me”.</p><p>It takes Archie a moment to realize who this guy really is. “You’re Evan? The Evan who is helping her with math?”</p><p>“Yes”, the black-haired guy answers a bit too firm. “Do you have a problem with that?”</p><p>
  <em>Yeah, maybe I do.</em>
</p><p>But he decides to ignore his question. Instead he turns back to Betty who is still sitting right in front of him. “Betty, can we please speak alone somewhere?”</p><p>A sad laugh comes over her lips as she takes another sip from her drink, her tired eyes looking back up to his. “Why?”</p><p>
  <em>For god’s sake.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Because I want to explain to you why I’m this late.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Because I want to tell you how sorry I am.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Because if we stay one moment longer, I want to punch this math guy in the face.</em>
</p><p>But instead he only says one word. “<em>Please</em>”.</p><p>There is a short moment of understanding between the two of them and he can see how Betty’s gaze turns into something much softer. “Alright”.</p><p>She jumps to her feed and grabs the bag from the table, but before she follows Archie, she also takes the cocktail in her hands.</p><p>“Hey, maybe you should leave this here…”. <em>Can’t she see how bad this is for her? How drunk she already is?</em></p><p>“Stop telling me what to do”, she answers with a bit more anger in her voice than before and he hates how drunk-Betty always makes a big deal out of everything.</p><p>“I’m <em>not</em> telling you what to do, I just want to prevent you from falling over your own feed”.</p><p>„Oh, and suddenly you care?“, she asks, anger and sadness swinging in her voice. „You show up, <em>4 hours too late</em>, and you expect me to listen to you?“</p><p>„Betty, I…“.</p><p>„Maybe you should just leave“. Suddenly this arrogant looking Evan is standing right beside Betty, his words sounding way too harsh for a quiet suggestion.</p><p>„I won’t leave“, is Archie reply. „Not without her“.</p><p>„Maybe she wants you to go“, Evan answers, taking a small step forward.</p><p>„And maybe we should let Betty speak for herself, don’t you think?“, is Archie’s reply while his eyes move back to Betty who is look back and forth between both guys. <em>God, this is like High School all over again.</em></p><p>„Listen, she has been waiting for you all night and you show up way too late, only to drag her away when she clearly doesn’t even want to go?“</p><p>A silent laugh scapes Archie’s lips at the words of this arrogant guy and he shakes his head before replying. „Hey, I don’t know you <em>Evan</em>, okay? And I’m pretty sure you don’t know me as well… so why don’t we try to get along?“</p><p>„You might don’t know me… but I know people like you“, Evan answers directly. „I know what you think. You think you’re invincible. You think you’re better than anyone else just because you’re a part of the Navy. But let me tell you something… just because you’re wearing a uniform most of the time doesn’t make you some sort of superhero“.</p><p>Archie might found Evan’s words funny at the beginning, but now they are slowly crossing the line to a real argument.</p><p>So Archie takes a step into Evan’s direction as well. „You know <em>nothing</em> about me“. His words are low and slow and for a second he can see some sort of anger in the eyes of the guy in front of him.</p><p>When Evan speaks again, his words sound even more more offensive than before. „Well, I know enough about you to realize that you’re not good enough for Betty… I mean do you know how miserable she seems to be because of you most of the time at the University? She looks sad and absent… and then you do something like this tonight… making her feel like she isn’t important enough for your time…“</p><p>„Evan…“, Betty tries to interrupt him but he shuts her up right away.</p><p>„No Betty, he should know how miserable you were tonight. He should know that you looked devastated because of him“.</p><p>„Hey, it’s not my fault that you let her drink this much, even though you knew she wasn’t in the best mood“, is Archie’s defense.</p><p>„Now I’m the guilty one?“ Evan laughs while throwing a look back to Betty who is still standing beside them.</p><p>„No, Archie… I might be the one that let her drink all of these cocktails tonight… but <em>you</em> were the reason she wanted to drink them in the first place“.</p><p>This is the first time Evan’s words actually hit Archie and he tries to ignore the overwhelming feeling of guilt in his bones.</p><p>„You’re just some Navy student“, Evan adds with a bit too much spite in his words. „You think you’re good for her, but you’re not. You’re showing up here tonight like everything is fine and the first thing you do is make her feel bad about her behavior when all along it was you that made a mistake…“.</p><p>Evan looks at him with a little smirk in the corner of his mouth and that’s the moment Archie actually gets mad at him. „Who do you think you are?“</p><p>„I’m a Yale student, just like your girlfriend“, Evan replies. „And not some dumb, pompous wanna-be-soldier“.</p><p> </p><p>Maybe it’s the thought of this guy teaching Betty math that makes Archie’s anger boil in his veins, maybe it’s the fact that Evan seems to be an arrogant jerk that doesn’t know a thing about him.</p><p>But something on the petty smile on Evan Campbell’s face is pressing all the wrong buttons in Archie’s head and he simply stops caring about the people around him, or his intentions to talk to this guy in a civilized way.</p><p>Because Archie Andrews always stood up for the people he cares about.</p><p>He punched the hell out of Nick St. Clair for touching Veronica and Cheryl.</p><p>He punched a hole into the frozen lake, just to save Cheryl from drowning in freezing water.</p><p>He punched criminals on the streets of Riverdale, to show them what they are doing is wrong.</p><p>He punched a lot of people back in the <em>El Royale Boxing Club</em>.</p><p>But there is one thing Archie Andrews never did.</p><p>He never punched anyone, purely because of himself. He always stood up for the people around him, the people he cared about. Fighting for himself just isn’t important enough for him.</p><p>Maybe because a huge part of his character is caring about other people instead of himself… maybe because his self-doubts are too big sometimes and he always thought he simply isn’t good enough for anyone or anything in his life.</p><p>But in this very moment, as he stares into the face of a guy that pretends to know him and his mistakes, seems to flitch a switch inside Archie’s head and for the very first time, he starts fighting for his own.</p><p>
  <em>You don’t know me. You don’t know my mistakes, or my fears. You only know the picture of a man you want me to be.</em>
</p><p>And the next thing he feels is his fist that crashes into Evan’s face and he watches how the dark-haired man stumbles backwards with a painful whine coming over his lips.</p><p>There is the numb feeling of pounding in his right hand as he stares at Evan. And then, in the exact moment his head turns to Betty, his opponent takes a swing and punches him in the stomach, a simple action that hurts so much more than it might look like.</p><p>Before he even knows it, he is fighting with Evan Campbell in a fancy club, dodging his fist here and there and punching back every few seconds.</p><p>“Stop!! Stop, Archie, please, stop! Evan, damn it, stop!!”</p><p>Betty’s shrill voice is only part of the background as he strikes back and hits Evan again, this time on the side of his stomach.</p><p>“Archie, please… <em>please</em>”.</p><p>The moment Betty’s pleading turns into a cry she seems to pull him out of his fighting state, and he stumbles backwards like he is truly realizing what he is doing in this moment.</p><p>Evan is about to hit him one more time but Archie ducks away in the last moment, letting him punch the air without any contact.</p><p>The people around them have turned silent but the music is still playing, putting the whole scenario into a weird lightning.</p><p>Archie’s doesn’t even have the time to turn back to Betty, there are already two giant security guards beside them, guiding him and Evan out of club.</p><p>Everyone is moving so fast that it only takes a few seconds until he’s getting pushes out of the front door and he stumbles out on the dark street, almost crashing on the hard asphalt.</p><p>He turns around just in time to witness Evan getting kicked out of the building as well and he watches how the black-haired guy stares at him through the dim street lights, ready to jump at him again within any second.</p><p>There is a moment Archie actually considers punching this guy again, but this thought completely leaves his mind the second he sees a blonde girl leave the club right after them.</p><p>Betty looks tiny and completely broken in her beautiful dark dress while she is walking over the black asphalt and the night is throwing shadows on her tear-streaked face.</p><p>“<em>Betty</em>…”. He speaks the second he starts walking towards her, but she raises her hand in his direction, a sharp look on her face as she tells him to stop. “Don’t! Not… <em>not now</em>”.</p><p>Her voice breaks a little bit, but she turns around to Evan the next second, starring at him with just as much contempt in her shiny eyes.</p><p>“What the hell were you thinking?”, she says to him, obviously trying her best to lower her voice in this quiet September night. “Everything you said… <em>who</em> gave you the right… you had <em>no right</em> to say those things to him!”</p><p>Her words are clear, and Evan’s face looks devastated as he stares at her. He opens his mouth, trying to respond, but she shuts him up immediately. “Don’t say anything…”. And suddenly she sounds so much more tired than the moment before. “Don’t… just… just leave me alone, Evan”.</p><p>She turns around and her eyes meet Archie’s through the shadows of the night while fear rises in his chest.</p><p>He isn’t scared of her. He is scared of the pain he just brought to her.</p><p>For a moment it looks like she is about to yell at him too, but something changes in her eyes as she walks towards him. Instead of reaching for his hand like she did hundred of times before, she simply walks past him, telling him quietly to follow her.</p><p>He stares back at Evan one more time, meets the disgust in his eyes and turns away before he punches this guy once more.</p><p>Instead, he follows the silhouette of a beautiful girl walking through the night, the streetlights falling on her angelic hair every few steps.  </p><p>A lot of words fly through his mind while he walks behind her, but none of them seem to leave his mouth in the next ten minutes. He tries to catch up to her, wants to walk beside her, wants to tell her how sorry he is about all of it.</p><p>But there is something about the hasty way she keeps walking in front of him, that’s tells him she rather wants to get away from him, than have him walking beside her.</p><p> </p><p>They reach the Yale University around half past twelve and he realizes that this is the very first time he sees the building with his own eyes. The huge stone walls look majestic and stunning as he is standing right before the entrance and he stares up to the top, watching how the night seems to swallow the building with a blanket made of fog.</p><p>There is a circle of light around Betty as she opens the front door and enters the hallway and he follows her with guilt in his bones, thinking about the fact that it took him a whole year to visit her at this place.</p><p>The sounds of their steps echo trough the big hallway as they enter another corridor and he watches how Betty pulls out a key from her small pocket. She stops in front of one of the many doors and a steps into a small room a second after opening it.</p><p>Silence is ringing in the air as he follows her inside the room and closes the door behind him, turning around to watch her lighting up the small lamp beside one of the two beds in the room.</p><p>“This is a beautiful room”, he says. His voice sounds out of place and that’s exactly how he feels as well as he stands right beside the door, starring at Betty like a lost soul.</p><p>She doesn’t says say anything to that, is simply letting the silence speak for her as she throws her bag on the bed at the right side of the room.</p><p>“Betty, I’m sorry”.</p><p>“For what exactly?”</p><p>He knows by the sound of her voice that the fresh air outside made her more sober over the minutes and he realizes by the way she suddenly turns around to look at him, that she isn’t as drunk as before.</p><p>“For showing up too late… for punching Evan… for everything”.</p><p>Her green wide eyes look back to him in a way they never did before, and he hates the feeling that starts to rise in his chest.</p><p>“I… I was <em>so</em> excited about today”. When Betty speaks again her voice sounds broken and fragile. “I think you… you don’t really understand how important it was for me, to have you by my side tonight”.</p><p>“I’m sorry I missed the first few hours, I-“.</p><p>“No…”, she interrupts him immediately. “That’s the point, Arch. You… <em>you missed the whole evening</em>. You missed the part I was exited about… I wanted you to meet my friends, I wanted you to show you everything”.</p><p>That’s the part he can see new tears slowly appearing in her eyes, but he is frozen in place as he watches her speak.</p><p>“I wanted you to meet Jane, I… I wanted you to see the people from my class. Damn it, I wanted to dance with you, I wanted to have fun… I wanted to have you by my side for <em>one damn evening</em> after a whole year without you here!” And suddenly her voice gets louder and shriller and there are a lot of emotions running over her face, but all above hurt is written in her eyes.</p><p>“You show up at <em>midnight</em>, because you wanted to help Sarah…”. An ironic laugh escapes her lips. “So, I’m asking you right now… is she more important to you than I am?”</p><p>He could laugh about this question and how silly that sounds, but the look on Betty’s face is serious and fearful, like she is afraid of his answer. That’s when he realizes how absolutely broken she feels about all of this.</p><p>“Betty, you are the most important person in the world for me”.</p><p>“Then why doesn’t it feel that way?!” This time her words are a cry and she nearly screams at him. “I mean… what the hell even was that back in the bar? You show up way too late and then you start a fight with Evan? What were you thinking?!”</p><p>Her words echo through the room for a long moment until he answers. “Listen… maybe I didn’t think this through when I agreed to help Sarah and Jerry today and I wish I could do things differently. But I can’t change that I arrived too late here in New Haven.”</p><p>He looks at her to see how she reacts to his words and he goes nearly insane because of the realization that none of the things he says seems to calm her down.</p><p>“And I’m sorry that I punched this guy, but he was talking total crap about me!” This time he speaks a bit louder than before. “I mean, no offense Betty, but did you hear the things he said to me? Or did you even notice the way he was staring at you?”</p><p>“I did hear his words, yes. But Evan is just a friend that wants to look out for me…”.</p><p>“God, <em>no</em>”. This time Archie is the one with the ironic laugh on his lips. “Common… you <em>know</em> he likes you. No other sane guy would teach you math without anything in return…”.</p><p>“You’re unbelievable”.</p><p>“Maybe I am…”, he says. “But I’m not blind. I saw the way he looks at you…”. A laugh escapes his lips as he remembers her words, she told him at the beach a few weeks ago. “The last time we spoke about him, you said to me you can’t even stand him most of the time because he is a jerk. But today it looked like you two are actually pretty close”.</p><p>“That doesn’t even matter anymore!” There is anger mixed with sadness in her sobs. “Evan is my friend… or at least he <em>was</em> my friend. And like it or not but he was the one by my side tonight… <em>not you</em>”.</p><p>This time her words hit him like a truck and leave him speechless for a long moment.</p><p>He wants to tell her how sorry he is about all of it. How it breaks his heart to see her this way. But not one word leaves his mouth as he stands there, watching the girl in front of him breaking down in tears.</p><p>This isn’t just the fact that he showed up too late, tonight. This isn’t just because he started a fight with Evan Campbell.</p><p>This is because both of them were living with the feeling of loneliness for far too long now, always missing each other over the long weeks of separation.</p><p>Archie knows that Betty is having a hard time with accepting that a long-distance relationship brings more difficulties than they had planned, and he would do anything in the world to tell her that things will get better.</p><p>He wants to tell her that he won’t be late ever again. He wants to say that he won’t be jealous.</p><p>
  <em>But he can’t.</em>
</p><p>Instead he watches how new tears run down Betty’s cheeks as she looks at him, spitting out words that are born right in her heart.</p><p>“I miss you, Arch…”, she cries. “And I love you. But I hate you for making me feel this way, I hate that you choose your friends over me, I hate that you didn’t even think twice about starting a fight with Evan. I hate how I’m feeling right now, I…”.</p><p>Her voice breaks completely, and he finally takes a step in her direction.</p><p>It’s a miracle that she is even able to see something through all the tears in her eyes and Archie knows there is still a lot of alcohol in her blood once she stumbles forward, reaching for him as he pulls her in his arms within a second.</p><p>There isn’t much strength left in her small arms, but she is holding on to him in a way she never did before. Her fingers are buried in the fabric of his jacket and her face is hidden against his chest as she keeps crying with her body pressed to his, the deeply sad sound of her sobs echoing through the small room.</p><p>The alcohol is still obfuscating her mind and the trauma from the last hour still lingering in the back of her head, but there is also real sorrow inside Betty that Archie never really recognized before.</p><p><em>“I’m sorry”</em>, he says against her hair with his eyes closed and his face painfully warped. <em>“I’m so, so sorry”.</em></p><p>Her fingers are wrapping into his clothes even tighter, her body holding on to him in an almost surrendering way as her broken voice whispers against his chest. <em>“Don’t hurt me, Archie… don’t hurt me again”.</em></p><p>So he holds her even tighter than before, refusing to let go of her ever again.</p><p>Betty is so strong. He knew this since the day they met. But Betty is also good in hiding her feelings… from the rest of the world… and also from him.</p><p>He knew this moment would come eventually. A moment where both of them would break under the pressure of keeping everything up over months. Missing each other is hard, not seeing each other is terrible and sometimes holding on to each other feels more painful than good.</p><p>He hates himself for hurting her. It’s almost painful to watch her like this, knowing he is the reason she is feeling this hopeless and sad.</p><p>It was clear that a moment like this was long overdue. Archie always knew that living in separate cities wouldn’t be easy for him and Betty but looking back at their yearlong friendship made him realize that there wouldn’t be anything in their future that they couldn’t master.</p><p>But this right here… this hurts.</p><p>
  <em>Sometimes, we create our own heartbreaks through expectations.</em>
</p><p>And even though Archie tries to avoid thinking about it… Evan’s words from the bar find their way into his head, his spiteful but true words lingering in the back of his mind.</p><p>
  <em>I might be the one that let her drink all of these cocktails tonight… but you were the reason she wanted to drink them in the first place.</em>
</p><p>Archie can hate it as much as he want, but Evan is right. He is the reason for Betty’s sadness… he is the reason why she is feeling this broken right now.</p><p><em>“Don’t hurt me</em>”. Her voice is barely a whisper against his chest<em>. “Never do this again”.</em></p><p>That’s the moment his heart breaks for her.</p><p>A single tear runs down his cheek as he keeps her closer than before, desperately holding on to the girl he loves more than anything else, while it feels like she is slowly slipping out of his hands with every month that passes by.</p><p>
  <em>“I won‘t”.</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A huge THANK YOU to all the people that left a comment on the last chapter! You don't know how much this means to me!!</p><p>It's been a really long day and I haven't re-read this chapter for any spelling mistakes so I'm sorry if there are any huge mistakes in there... I really hope you liked this chapter and enjoyed the Barchie Angst :)<br/>Archie is acting a bit more like he did back in Riverdale (fighting etc) and I thought it would be nice to go back to the roots of the show for a little while... I won't say how this story will lead to or how things will wrap up at the end, but I it will be emotional for sure...<br/>So goodnight guys and take care! xx</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. In The Name Of Love</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>"If I told you this was only gonna hurt</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>If I warned you that the fire's gonna burn</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>Would you walk in?</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>Would you let me do it first?</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>Do it all in the name of love."</strong>
</p><p>
  <b>• Bebe Rexha, Martin Garrix</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Waking up beside Archie in her bed in New Haven should feel amazing.</p><p>But Betty’s head hurts way too much the morning after a night filled with tears and arguments and she stares at the grey ceiling for several minutes before turning her face to the sleeping guy beside her.</p><p>Archies eyes are closed in a peaceful way, his hair is a red mess on her blue bedsheets and under his left eye is a small, almost invisible sign of the unnecessary fight he had with Evan just a few hours earlier.</p><p>A sight comes over Betty’s lips as the memories return to her and she absolutely hates how the last evening turned out to be.</p><p>Her head feels like it will explode any second, there is still the taste of alcohol on her lips and while looking down on her body she realized she is still wearing her dress from the night before.</p><p>„<em>Oh god</em>“.</p><p>The sound of her whispered words seem to breathe life into the man beside her and she turns her head just in time to watch Archie opening his sleepy eyes. </p><p>„Hey“. His voice sounds as broken as her own and a part of her is thankful for that.</p><p>„Hey“.</p><p>Silence spreads between them for a long moment, minutes filled with the echoing memories from the hours before, the argument still standing between them like a mountain they still have to climb.</p><p>„Betty… I’m sorry“. Archie’s voice is drawing her eyes back on his face and the second she really looks at him, all the intense feelings from last night seem to flash through her body like the waves of a pitch black sea.</p><p>She stares at him, green eyes meeting brown ones for what feels like a century.</p><p>And then she reaches out and her small fingers find the side of his face, slowly sliding over his skin. „I know you are“. Her voice is a whisper while she can see the relieve painted in his eyes.</p><p>„I… just wanted to help Sarah and Jerry… I wanted to do the right thing, but I realized that I did the exact opposite when I saw you in that bar yesterday…“. There is still so much guilt in his words that it even forces him to close his eyes for a moment.</p><p>„Hey…“. Her fingers brush over the new, short beard-hairs on the side of his chin and she wonders once again how much time they’ll spent apart in which he will keep changing like this. „It’s okay… I get it, you know“. She fights a small smile on her lips and he opens his eyes just in time to witness the gentle look on her face. „I know you always want to help people… that’s what you do. That’s what you have always done… you’re Archie Andrews… you help people“.</p><p>A short moment of silence follows before he speaks. „The… the things I said about Evan…“.</p><p>„I know you didn’t mean it“, she simply cuts him off. „Last night was pretty crazy… and you’re not the only one that did some stupid things.“</p><p><em>I missed you; </em>she wants to say.<em> I missed you so much and I don’t want to spend our remaining time here with arguing about things that aren’t even worth it.</em></p><p>But before she can say anything at all, he speaks again, his voice splintered in cautious and tense sounds.</p><p>“We’re okay, right?” His warm eyes are on hers the entire time he speaks, and she can see the sincere concern on his shadowed face. “You and me… we are okay, aren’t we?”</p><p>There is a beat of silence after that.</p><p>
  <em>Are we okay? Or are we just pretending that the time we spent apart is slowly changing us in versions of ourselves that the other doesn’t have the chance to get to know?</em>
</p><p>There are a lot of demons in Betty’s mind, but she isn’t ready to face them in this moment… and she probably never will be.</p><p>Instead she reaches forward, her eyes still on his while he waits for her answer. So, she leans down, still a bit hesitant. But the second her lips meet his she is sure of her answer and she pushes all the bad feelings and painful thoughts from the last night to the side and simply enjoys the feeling of Archie pulling her into his arms, holding her just as close as he did just hours before.</p><p>
  <em>Yes… we are okay.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>•••</b>
</p><p> </p><p>They spent the whole weekend together after that, both of them trying to pretend that they are not walking on eggshells the entire time, avoid bringing up conversations that nearly teared them apart before.</p><p>Archie finally meets Jane on Saturday afternoon when him and Betty meet her and her boyfriend Oliver at one of the Italian restaurants downtown.</p><p>“So… you’re the boyfriend from Maryland”, is Jane’s first sentence the second they see each other in front of the small restaurant. Her voice isn’t angry or judgmental in any way, partly because she and Oliver left early enough to miss the fight between Archie and Evan last night, partly because Jane is one of the most open-minded person Betty knows.</p><p>“That’s me”, is Archie’s respond while he fights his best smile on his lips.</p><p>There is an agonizing long moment of silence between all four of them before Jane finally smiles back at him and reaches out to shake his hand.</p><p>“I’m Jane McKanzie, it’s so great to finally meet you!”</p><p>And just like that, the ice is broken.</p><p>They spent the rest of the day together, all of them talking about the different lives they’re living. Oliver speaks a lot about this life in his hometown and how everything got a lot better once he left High School. “College just wasn’t something for me, you know?”, he says at one point, simply shrugging his shoulders while staring at Jane beside him. “But going to College or not wasn’t even a real question for me… or for us, I would say. The only thing that really counts is that this between me and Jane is still working… the rest is incidental”.</p><p>Betty’s eyes drift to Archie’s while she listens to Oliver’s words and she watches how the red-haired guy beside her is biting in one of the large pizza slices.</p><p>
  <em>He is right. As long as this between Archie and me works… the rest is incidental.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>They spend Sunday walking through New Haven.</p><p>Betty is determined to show Archie every place, every building and every single corner of this city that she visited the last year, probably because the feeling of <em>finally</em> having him here even just for a few days could be a way to fill the hole he left inside her chest every time she walked these streets alone.</p><p>Now he is here, now he is finally walking by her side.</p><p>And every time she thinks about the moment that he will be leaving her again, her heart drops to the floor, bursting into thousand pieces on the hard, grey paving stone.</p><p> </p><p>The night arrives and Archie leaves. It’s like a mapped-out game, a fate that seems to be set in stone. Every time Betty is getting used to having Archie beside her, he leaves again… and the hole inside her chest seems to get a tiny bit bigger than before, a wound that seems to gape open like a chasm inside her heart.</p><p><em>This is silly</em>; she thinks when he hugs her goodbye. <em>We will see each other in a few weeks. Stop feeling this sad because he is going back to Maryland.</em></p><p>So she smiles when they break apart, standing in the dark parking lot of the University, watching him climbing into the car while throwing his small bag to the passenger seat.</p><p>“Next time I’ll see you in New York”, he says with a voice that is supposed to sound funny like every other time he tries to lift the mood.</p><p>She steps closer to the car as he closes the door and he opens the window to look back up to her one last time.</p><p>“New York, baby”, she answers with a smirk on her face. “This will be fun, right?”</p><p>He twists his keys between his fingers. “Of course. As long as Veronica doesn’t come up with some stupid theme and dress code for her birthday party…”.</p><p>They both laugh at his words and she loves how he is always able put a smile on her face, even though the sadness seems to tear her apart once again.</p><p>“Oh, we both know she will”, is Betty’s lighthearted reply and she watches how he smiles at her words and for a moment she gets lost in his eyes.</p><p>
  <em>Stay with me.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Let me go with you.</em>
</p><p>She is screaming inside, a loud voice in the back of her head, pleading her to tell him how she feels. But all she can says is “Drive safe, okay?”.</p><p>He nods, a different kind of smile rolling over his face, a smile that isn’t born out of happiness, a smile that is haunted with sadness. “You know I will”.</p><p>With that he turns on the engine and says goodbye one last time and she waves at him before she turns around, making her way back to the University entrance.</p><p>One, two, three.</p><p>After the third step she turns around one last time to watch him drive off into the dark, just in time to catch a glimpse of him for a short second.</p><p>And the hole in her chest gets a little deeper the moment she watches his confident smile fade away and he closes his eyes in a dejected way before turning the car around and driving around the next street corner.</p><p>This wasn’t a look on his face she was supposed to see.</p><p>This was the truth behind all his words and efforts to make her happy in the time they spent together.</p><p>And now she knows that this separation between them, saying goodbye repeatedly is killing him just as much as it is killing her.</p><p>She dreams about the heartbreak on his face in this night. She sees his broken face every time she closes her eyes, can feel his sadness mixing with her own, can watch how the fatigue takes over every emotion written in his eyes.</p><p>She dreams about it the night after that as well.</p><p>After the third night she stops wondering when this painful expression on his face will ever leave her mind and after the fourth night, she just accepts that things just will be like that from now on.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>September goes by slowly, like the days are blending into one another, a mixture of studying a grey sky surrounding Betty like a well-known friend.</p><p>She doesn’t really know how to handle this new born feeling of missing Archie more than the past year because a part of her always thought that this feeling would get better over time. But the truth is, it’s the exact opposite.</p><p>And because she doesn’t know what to do, she is doing what she always did.</p><p>She tries to be <em>perfect</em>.</p><p>This mirrors in the way she kneels into her homework and exams, always trying to get the best notes just like her mother taught her too.</p><p>She keeps her half of the dorm room beautifully cleaned and starts wearing her tight ponytail more often than in the last months. Maybe because it gives her that kind of confidence she desperately needs right now.</p><p>And sometimes, when she is alone in her room, she opens one of the drawers beside her bed and pulls out a little, golden, plastic ring. </p><p>The same ring Archie proposed to her in second grade... the same ring he left on her pillow when he left Riverdale over a year ago. </p><p>Sometimes she only looks at the little toy while trying to remember the feeling that shot through her body when she found the ring in her bedroom. It might be a bit sentimental keeping something silly as that in your dorm room but Betty is past the point of caring about that.</p><p> </p><p>She meets Evan Campbell two weeks after the incident at the bar while they both walk the same way to the math lecture. At first, she looks away as soon as she sees him starring at her across the hallway, but she immediately realizes how childish her behavior seems.</p><p>So, she walks towards him before entering the classroom, meeting him in the middle while he leans against the corridor wall with a simple “Hi”.</p><p>“To be clear, I won’t apologize for what Archie did because you kind of deserved it”, she states as soon as she opens her mouth. “You were a jerk and you were unfair to him and I think he had every right to be angry at you”.</p><p>He stays silent for a moment, simply starring back at her face. “So, you’re defending his behavior?”</p><p>“I’m not saying that what he did was right, but I’m admitting that it was a bit… extreme”.</p><p>“Extreme?” A short laugh escapes his lips as he stares at the math book in her arms for a few seconds. “He would have hit me black and blue if these security men hadn’t stopped him”.</p><p>“Well maybe you shouldn’t have been that mean to him”.</p><p>“Or maybe he should have been a better boyfriend to you”.</p><p>It takes her a moment to find an answer to that and she knows by the way he stares at her that he can see the hesitation on her face. “That’s none of your business, Evan”.</p><p>That’s the moment she can’t handle the look on his face anymore and her gaze falls to the floor while she endures the meaningful silence from the guy in front of her.</p><p>“You know, I thought we were friends”, he starts and suddenly not only anger swings within his voice, but also a small amount of sadness. “And as your friend I wanted to stand up for you in a moment you clearly weren’t able to handle the situation on your own”.</p><p>“That’s what all that has been about?”, she asks. “You wanted to stand up for me?”</p><p>He nods to her words but somehow all of this seems to make her a bit madder than the moment before. “No Evan, you clearly enjoyed attacking Archie with all those things you said. And that’s the problem… you know how much he means to me, but you said it anyway and I think you should apologize for that”.</p><p>“I should apologize?” Another laugh comes over his lips. “Okay… I know how much he means to you, that’s true”. Evans answer is calmer than her voice and suddenly he takes a step in her direction, so she is forced to look right into his face. “But what’s much more important is that I also know how hurt you were by his actions… so no. I’m not sorry that I said those things to him, because he obviously needed someone to tell him how bad his behavior towards you really was. And because of that…”. He shrugs his shoulders and walks past her, entering the classroom door within a second. “… I won’t apologize, Cooper”.</p><p>She just stands there and watches him disappear in the classroom, obviously baffled by his words. </p><p>
  <em>What an idiot.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>On 22nd October 2021 Betty is stuffing her packed bags into her car while the autumn wind is swirling her blonde hair in a new direction every few seconds.</p><p>She jumps on the driver seat and turns on the radio before checking her mobile phone one last time, a grin on her cherry-painted lips as she reads all the messages on the small screen.</p><p><em>“Can’t wait to see u again!!! This will be amazing, you’ll see! :*” - </em> <b> <em>Veronica Lodge, 11:45 am</em> </b></p><p><em>“How is the weather in the big apple? I want to know what I can wear to look as good as possible when I walk the streets of NYC…” </em> <b> <em>– Kevin Keller, 12:15 pm</em> </b></p><p>She can’t help but smile like an idiot while replying to both text messages, sending Veronica some heart-emojis and answering to Kevin that he’ll look good in everything either way.</p><p>Before she can puts her phone away she gets another message, this time from Archie.</p><p><em>“New York, Baby… See you in five hours!” – </em> <b> <em>Archie Andrews, 12:18 pm</em> </b></p><p>Her heart jumps while reading the words and she can’t help but laugh at the <em>Baby</em> he put in his message. This word has become some sort of joke since she said it to him during their last goodbye in New Haven and both of them seem to find it funny calling each other like that with relation to New York.</p><p>She answers with a short “<em>can’t wait! xx</em>” and turns on the engine with the enormous feeling of joy in her bones. This weekend is something Betty has been looking forward for a lot these last weeks, the feeling of not only missing Archie but also missing her old life seeming to tear her down from time to time in an almost consuming way.</p><p>This weekend – <em>however short it might be</em> – will feel like a big reunion. Betty is sure of that.</p><p>That’s why the way to New York feels longer than it normally should and her fingertips tap on the steering wheel in an impatient way while her whole being seems to ache for some time with friends she once had every day but nowadays seems as rare as snow in Florida.</p><p>She arrives in the city around 3 pm, a silent curse on her lips every time she gets overwhelmed with the busy streets and enormous traffic on the road, swearing to herself that she won’t ever drive with a car to this damned city.</p><p><em>Kill me</em>; she thinks after half an hour stuck in traffic and she hates how her GPS seems to lead her the wrong way every two blocks.</p><p>At 3:30 pm she finally finds a parking spot two streets away from the hotel she booked for her and Archie’s weekend trip and once she takes a few steps on the crowded street while dragging behind her small suitcase, she seems to relax for the first time that day</p><p>The temperature at this time of the year is a bit lower than in New Haven, partly because of the Atlantic right beside the city, partly because there is a cold wind gushing through the urban canyons and skyscrapers, sending chills down Betty’s skin right where the cold air touches her body.</p><p>After a few minutes she arrives at the Hotel and goes up the few stairs to the entrance, immediately realizing that the price she paid for the accommodation is even noticeable in the exterior of the house.</p><p>“Hi… Betty Cooper… I made a reservation for this weekend. Two people”.</p><p>The old lady at the reception smiles at her when she finally checks in and she gets two keys with the inscription <em>Room 517</em>.</p><p>Betty takes the elevator and opens the door to her room a few seconds later, throwing her bag to the floor once she steps into the tiny chamber.</p><p>
  <em>Dear Lord.</em>
</p><p>The blonde girl finally realizes what Veronica meant by saying “<em>money is indispensable… especially when it comes to New York</em>”. The room is just big enough for the rickety bed in the middle of it, there is no balcony nor a TV. The small bathroom is littered in those old, brown tiles people seemed to love back in the seventies and on top of it all there isn’t even a window in there.</p><p>“Doesn’t matter”, she breathes to herself while she finds her reflection in a small mirror over the beige sink. <em>I’m not here because of this Hotel. I’m here because of Veronica. I’m here because of Archie. I’m here to see my friends again.</em></p><p>The thought of reuniting with Kevin for the first time since they both left High School puts a smile on her face and she turns around and leaves the room, making her way to the small Café a few blocks away which was chosen as their meeting point.</p><p>“The train arrives in 60 minutes… I’ll see you there” – Archie Andrews, 3:56 pm.</p><p>Her heart jumps the moment she checks her phone and she replies with a short “Okay, see u soon” before she finally reaches the small Café at the end of the street. She closes her city planner app and tries to find a familiar face in the crowd of people around her.</p><p>And then – <em>finally</em> – she sees him.</p><p>“Kevin! Kev!!” Her words seem to drown in the city sounds around her but somehow the brunette guy beside the entrance of the Café seems to hear her voice.</p><p>He is already smiling once she reaches him and they share a hug that makes up for the months they spent apart. “Hey Betty”.</p><p>She simply grins at him once they break apart. “Hi… you look great”. That’s the first thing that enters her mind once she stares up to his perfectly made hair, a style that is still very similar to High School, something that seems to complete his neat appearance and cordial kind.</p><p>“You too. Good to see your hair without that ponytail… you wore this thing so often, at one point I thought that maybe the hair tie was glued to your head”.</p><p>She laughs at that because – <em>hell, he is right</em> – and she nods towards the door behind them. “Wanna get some hot chocolate?”</p><p>“You can bet on it”.</p><p>It only takes them a few minutes until they are back in sync like they were in High School. That’s one of the million things Betty always loved about Kevin, no matter how much time they spent apart, they always seem to click instantly one they are back together.</p><p>They order hot chocolate and talk about the big city, laughing because they’re both freaking out about the fact that they are actually sitting in a Café in New York city right now.</p><p>Kevin talks a lot in the first 15 minutes. He tells her all the things they couldn’t talk about over the phone or details that were too much to write over text messages. Betty listens while he speaks about College and how much better life got once he left the Riverdale High and the blonde girl realizes that she always kind of knew that Kevin was similar to a bird captured in a cage and once he left the iron bars of school behind him, he was finally able to spread his wings and follow his dreams in a much more fulfilling way. His relationship with Fangs seems to be the perfect thing for him and he sounds more than devastated when he tells her his boyfriend couldn’t join him in his New York trip because of some family meeting back in Riverdale.</p><p>“Fangs and I… we are living together now”, he says while ordering his second cup of chocolate with a wide smile on his face. “I know what you might think, but I promise… this didn’t feel wrong, you know? We go to the same College either way and the dorm rooms there are just so tiny and shabby that we decided to move in together. We’re both working at different restaurants as part-time jobs after the lectures and even though it’s a quite stressful time schedule… it’s really worth it”.</p><p>Betty watches how Kevin’s eyes light up once he talks about Fangs, a feeling she knows so well. And even though she is absolutely happy for her friend, a part of her is longing for the same feeling. How beautiful is would be to share an apartment with Archie… how perfect it would be to have him around every day.</p><p>“I know you might think this is a terrible idea, but I love him and he loves me…”, are Kevin’s next words but she interrupts him with a warm smile.</p><p>“No Kev, no… I… I actually think that’s a beautiful idea. I’m really happy for you two”.</p><p>And Kevin wouldn’t be Kevin if he wouldn’t notice the well-hidden pain in Betty’s eyes while she speaks those words.</p><p>“Alright… now it’s your turn. Talk to me about Archie, and with that I mean <em>everything</em>… not just that simple <em>Oh it’s great, we’re in love blablabla</em> because I’ll know when you lie… I want to hear the dirty truth, okay?”</p><p>They share a look full of understanding for solid ten seconds until she finally gives in.</p><p>So, she tells him everything.</p><p>She tells him about his birthday and how she was sick and couldn’t visit him like it was originally planned.</p><p>She tells him how she felt while she realized that they both started a new life in different cities.</p><p>She tells him about their time at Luke’s beach house… and how it felt watching Jessica leave with tears in her eyes.</p><p>She tells him about the night Archie arrived way too late at her College party… and she tells him how he started a fight with Evan.</p><p>She tells him how she hated it, that he punched one of her few friends.</p><p>She tells him how she feels since that night.</p><p>And Kevin listens.</p><p>He listens to her words like he always did since middle school and nods at the right times whenever she needs some support during her speech. Her words become a bit tangled at one point while she seems to pour out her heart to him and she can see how the words she says actually reach his mind like she wants them to because after all this time, all she needs is someone that knows how she feels.</p><p>“So, tell me…”, she says with her voice so quiet and sad that she isn’t even sure if he is able to hear her words. “… am I crazy for thinking all of that? Am… am I crazy for thinking my relationship with Archie is slipping through my fingers every time we spent time together… because I feel like I’m going insane, I just… I don’t want to miss him anymore, I…”.</p><p>Her eyes find Kevin’s over the dark table and once she sees the concern in his dark eyes, she finally admits something to him that she wasn’t even able to admit to herself for a very long time. “You know I… I’m holding on to Archie like… like my life is depending on it… at least that’s what it feels like. But it’s <em>so damn hard</em> and I keep pushing that feeling down, I keep burring it because I don’t want to feel like that, I don’t want to feel like I’m slowly breaking apart… all… all I want is to feel happy with him, you know? I want to see him every day, I want to spent time with him… I… I want to live with him like you and Fangs do. Am I crazy for thinking all these things?”</p><p>Her voice breaks a little by the last sentence, but she pulls herself together, starring back at Kevin with pure sadness in her eyes.</p><p>“You’re not crazy, Betty”. Kevin’s voice is soothing and clear while he looks at her with a firmness that seems to underline all his words. “And even thought I can’t say I know how you feel… I <em>understand</em> how you feel… and <em>why</em> you feel it. A long-distance relationship isn’t easy… I think everyone knows that.”</p><p>He gives her a little smile, a small gesture that is meant to cheer her up.</p><p>“All I want… is a normal relationship with him. That’s all. I want to feel like we’re back in High School… I want him back on the other side of my window. I don’t want to miss him anymore”.</p><p>“Betty, you know that Archie is part of the Naval Academy now, right?” Kevin’s words don’t sound judging or bad, instead he looks at her with curiosity and compassion. “You know that he won’t be coming home for… well, for a long time, I guess. I mean the training might take four years, but he will have to do his service for another five years after that.”</p><p>It’s not like Betty doesn’t know any of these things.</p><p>But this time, hearing these words of confirmation from one of her closest friends, is hitting her like a train.</p><p>Before her thoughts can return to a place in her mind that she tries to shut out most of the time, Kevin distracts her with his calming voice. “Hey Betty, listen to me… you love Archie, don’t you?”</p><p>She nods before she can even say a quiet “<em>yes</em>” and the brunette guy smiles at her. “Of course, you do. And Archie loves you too. It’s always been that way. So, focus on that… focus on the things you have instead of the things you want”.</p><p>With that he reaches out and squeezes her hand for a short moment and she realizes how much she had missed Kevin Keller in her life. “Thank you, Kev. I love you, you know that, right?”</p><p>He rolls his eyes, tries to lift her mood and for a second, he actually succeeds. “Of course, I do”. His head turns to the clock on the wall. “So when will Archie be here?”</p><p>Betty follows his gaze, reading the<em> 5:22 pm </em>with tired eyes. “In about 10 minutes”.</p><p>Kevin simply nods while suddenly standing up and grabbing his coat from the empty chair beside him.</p><p>“Hey, where are you going?” Confusion and slight panic spreads in Betty’s body.</p><p>He smiles while putting on his grey coat and grabbing his phone from the table in front of him. “It’s getting late… Veronica will kill me when I’m tired on her birthday party tomorrow. I think I’ll go to sleep early tonight.”</p><p><em>Veronica</em>; she thinks and the feeling of missing swirls through Betty’s veins. <em>I’ll see her tomorrow.</em></p><p>“What about me? You can’t leave me here”.</p><p>“You…”, is Kevin’s casual reply while she stands up as well and he looks at her with an amused face. “… you’re going to talk with Archie. <em>Alone</em>. The things I just heard about your relationship are telling me that you two need more alone-time.”</p><p>“But- “</p><p>“<em>No but</em>. I’ll see you tomorrow… and you better wear something fancy, I heard Veronica won’t accept some jeans and sneakers”. With that he hugs her one last time and she closes her eyes for a moment, gladly enjoying the feeling of having someone from her past right here in her presence.</p><p>“See you tomorrow”, she says while they break apart and he smiles at her one last time before leaving the Café.</p><p>The moment she puts her own, light blue coat on she can feel her phone vibrate in her pocket.</p><p>“Hey”. And then she hears Archie’s voice through the rustling sounds of her phone and without even noticing it, a small smile appears on her lips. “I’m at the hotel now, send me your location and I’ll walk to you”.</p><p>“No”, she says while grabbing her small, black bag from the back of her chair. “I’ll come to the hotel. Stay there, I’ll be there in five minutes”.</p><p>She steps out on the streets of New York and immediately gets hit in the face with the cold October air. There are still hundreds of people outside, all of them obviously hurrying and almost running over one another, trying to walk as fast as possible.</p><p>The sky turns darker once Betty turns into the street of the hotel, the grey color on the sky announcing the cold autumn night that seems to be just minutes away.</p><p>“Betty!” She can hear him before she even lays eyes on him, but suddenly she sees him standing there, right in front of the entrance to their hotel with a smile on his face and a packed backpack over his shoulders.</p><p>The last few steps towards him are a lot faster than the ones before and she nearly jumps in his arms like she did hundreds of times before and he catches her like he has always done.</p><p>“Welcome to New York!”, she says against the skin on his neck, taking in his scent before she breaks apart from him. “How was your train ride?”</p><p>He rolls his eyes with an amused smile. “Do you really want to know?”</p><p>“No”. She answers his smile with her own while she stares up to him, once again totally overwhelmed by the sight of him. Back in Riverdale, Archie was known for his Letterman-Jacket, his bright red hair, his jeans and sneakers.</p><p>But right now, he is dressed in dark clothes, black jeans, a grey pullover under his navy-blue jacket and the shorter haircut still matching his well-trained body.</p><p>“Here”, she says while her hand reaches into the pocket of her coat, her eyes still on him while she hands him one of the two keys to their room. “One for you, one for me… you want to see the room?”</p><p>“Absolutely”.</p><p>They walk inside and Betty smiles at the friendly Lady at the reception before they take the elevator. Once they reach the room, she watches how Archie takes the key to open the door and she steps in the room right beside him, turning on the light while closing the door behind her.</p><p>“It’s small and a total hovel… but I guess it works for two nights”.</p><p>She watches how he puts his backpack on the bed in front of him. “Are you kidding? This is amazing! It doesn’t matter how it looks… we’re in New York”. He takes two steps to the small window on the other side of the tiny room and she just stands there and watches how he looks through the glass out to the night.</p><p>
  <em>And suddenly it hits her all over again.</em>
</p><p>She stares at him looking through a window and asks herself how many years will pass by until she will see him through her window in Riverdale again.</p><p>She watches him by something as simple as opening a hotel room and she is longing for the moment they’ll both share a key to the same apartment door.</p><p>She looks at him and wonders when seeing him will feel like coming home, and not like a vacation.</p><p>So, she walks towards him to stand right beside him, her hand reaching up to his face to turn his head in her direction.</p><p><em>I miss you</em>; she wants to say.</p><p><em>I think we should talk about the current situation</em>; she should say.</p><p>But instead she stands up on her tip toes and lays her lips on his, closing her eyes to shut down every other thought on her mind.</p><p>He tastes like Archie and Archie should taste like home. But this time he tastes like loss and sadness and all above like an exception. He tastes like something rare which hurts like hell when you want him to be something permanent.</p><p>“Touch me”, she breathes against his skin.</p><p>
  <em>Touch me because I don’t want to think any longer.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Touch me because I need to feel something else than confusion and sadness.</em>
</p><p>There is a moment of hesitation from Archie’s side. “Don’t you want to see the city first?”</p><p>Her answer is another kiss while she takes off her coat and he finally understands that this isn’t something she simply <em>wants</em>, this is something she <em>needs</em>.</p><p>Betty never wanted to be that kind of girl. The kind of woman who cares about sex above anything else. But this isn’t the desire for a man’s body, this is the longing for connection to a person she keeps missing way too much and she simply reached a point where she needs to feel his presence as near as possible.</p><p>And maybe… just maybe Archie feels the exact same way. At least that’s what it seems like once he picks her up and throws her on the squeaky bed.</p><p>That’s the moment Betty just stops caring about the fact that the walls here are so thin that their neighbors will hear everything because that thought will remind her of the fact that many years will pass before her and Archie will have <em>real</em> neighbors together and that’s something she doesn’t want to think about right now.</p><p>Every single piece of clothing gets ripped off their bodies within minutes and Betty drowns in the feeling of Archie’s skin on hers.</p><p>Somehow she can’t even remember a time where she didn’t share this kind of closeness with him, all those years before seem to fade away and all that really matters seem to deepen in her mind, memories of him and her shining in bright colors.</p><p>She remembers the time they first slept together, she knows how caring and careful Archie always tried to behave in her presence. She also remembers how that changed with every other time they had sex and how both of them learned from each other, got to know one another on many different levels.</p><p>Sleeping with him today is different than it was a year ago but not because it isn’t as passionate as it was before. It’s different because he knows her body like a map he memorizes in his mind and she knows his just the same.</p><p>He knows the parts of her body where she is the most sensitive, he knows what parts of skin he needs to touch to make her crazy for him.</p><p>Just like she knows what he likes apart from kissing her over and over again.</p><p>But this time everything feels different for Betty.</p><p>Maybe because the words she told Kevin just minutes before are still stuck in the back of her head somewhere.</p><p>So, she tries to hold on to him like never before, clings to his skin like she is an attachment to his body… and he doesn’t seem to care. In fact, he seems to love it.</p><p> </p><p>Forgotten is New York City, forgotten is the Sight-Seeing-Tour they wanted to do this evening.</p><p>All they care about is each other.</p><p>They drown in their closeness to one another, skin against skin. He laughs quietly when she gets impatient under his touch until she pushes him to the mattress, sinking down on his body, moving with him for what feels like an eternity but the sprinkle of a second at once until she falls down to his chest, breathing just as heavy as he does.</p><p>His soft fingers brush the hair out of her face as she closes her eyes and places a warm kiss on his bare chest.</p><p>“So much for Sight-Seeing”, he murmurs amused and she hates how much she missed his silly jokes.</p><p>“We can do it tomorrow”, she answers quietly. “Or in a few years… who knows… maybe we will visit New York again”.</p><p>A beat of silence goes by and she doesn’t really know why, but the words leave her mouth before she can really think about them. “Or we will even live here together”.</p><p>She listens to the steady beat of his heart with the side of her head is still laying on his chest, desperately waiting for an answer.</p><p>
  <em>Please tell me I’m not crazy for thinking about the future.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Please tell me there is a chance for us to actually have a normal relationship without any long-distance in between.</em>
</p><p>“That’s a pretty dream”, he says with a warm voice. “Maybe we will”.</p><p>His answer sounds casual and honest but she damn well knows Archie Andrews, she has known him for almost all her life.</p><p>And there is a reason he put the word <em>dream</em> in his answer, there is a reason there is a <em>maybe</em>.</p><p>But she also knows that none of this is his fault or his wish or at least that’s what she hopes.</p><p><em>Eight years</em>; she thinks.</p><p>
  <em>Eight years until we can have a normal life together. Eight years until we can actually be together like a normal couple.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Eight years.</em>
</p><p>“Do you think we can go up the Statue of Liberty?” And suddenly he changes the topic and starts talking about the next day and she puts on a smile even though he can’t even see it. “I saw on television that you have to buy tickets months before you actually arrive here…”.</p><p>He keeps talking for a while and she listens politely because what else is left to say?</p><p>Bringing up her fears and worries won't help anyone in this situation... it will just ruin the short time they have together and that's something Betty simply can't risk. </p><p>Betty knew what she was getting herself into once they parted ways last year and it’s her own fault for believing a long-distance relationship would be easy.</p><p>So, she tries to focus on Archie’s voice while he talks, listening and nodding at the right time.</p><p><em>We will get through this</em>; she tells herself. <em>It’s like Kevin said. I love him and he loves me. It’s always been that way.</em></p><p>But fear won’t just leave because you want it to.</p><p>And even though she sleeps in Archie’s arms that night, tucked in between his warm skin and the rough material of the bedsheets, she dreams about the Statue of Liberty and icy winds between mountain-tall skyscrapers. She dreams about tiny hotel rooms and dark elevators. She dreams about a yellow-blue letterman jacket and milkshakes with a cherry on top.</p><p>She dreams about being alone in an empty apartment, standing in the middle of the room, starring at the door for what feels like an eternity… desperately waiting for a stranger to finally come home.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A huge Thank You to every single person that left a comment or Kudos on the last chapter - you guys really put a big smile on my face, I can't describe how much this feedback means to me! :)</p><p>I'm so sorry that it took this long for this chapter but writing this one was a bit hard for me (I can't even describe why exactly but my English wasn't that good this time and writing about a city that I never visited before was difficult as well).</p><p>Never mind, I really hope you liked this chapter!!!<br/>I'm already working on the last two chapters to upload them next week! :) </p><p>So stay healthy everyone and have a lovely evening!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. We Hurt The Same</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>“I wish I could read your mind,</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>I wish I could heal your pain.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>I wish I could understand you,</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Because I think we hurt the same.”</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>“Archie! What a surprise… I thought you were already on your way to New York”.</p><p>The October wind is freezing cold in Maryland as Archie is standing before the opened front door of Brooks house, starring at his mother in front of him with a soft smile on his face.</p><p>“Hey mom”. She pulls him into a hug, and he closes his eyes for a moment, thanking god that Mary is visiting Brooke more and more these last few weeks and he doesn’t have to drive all the way back to Riverdale to see her. “I’m actually on my way there. I’ll take the train in less than an hour and I have some time to kill… so I thought I would say hello”.</p><p>“I’m glad you’re here… come in, Brooke is making some pumpkin soup”.</p><p>He follows her in the familiar yet strange looking apartment and sits down at the kitchen table like he did the last time he spent some hours here during the Christmas vacations.</p><p>“Oh, hey Archie, nice to see you!” Brooke is hurrying through the living room for a short moment, waving at him with red baking gloves slipped over her hands. “I hope you’re hungry”.</p><p><em>Actually, I’m not</em>; he thinks. “Yeah, always. It already smells amazing”.</p><p>She disappears into the kitchen area and he is left with his mom at the table, a comfortable silence spreading between them.</p><p>Archie is more than glad that his mother found someone like Brooke. It’s comforting to know that she is happy and in love… something she hadn’t been for a very long time.</p><p>“Don’t you want to take of your jacket?”</p><p>The voice of his mother is reaching him from far away and he realizes that his thoughts are drifting away every second he isn’t directly speaking to anyone around him.</p><p>He pulls the dark blue fabric off his shoulders and stares at color of the cloth for a few seconds, drifting off into his thoughts once again.</p><p>The sight of this color brings him back to the blue dress Betty loves to wear during the summer months, the one that makes her look like an angel when she is walking through the sun. It reminds him of the blue bow she used to wrap around her ponytail when she was younger. It takes him back to the color of her bedsheets in New Haven and how it felt sleeping next to her a month earlier.</p><p>He remembers the feeling of being helpless while holding her after the disaster at her College party just hours before and he gets chills every time he thinks back to the way she was looking at him during their heated arguments about Evan Campbell and the fact that he arrived way too late. He screwed up this time. He really did. And he can’t help but to still feel guilty about it even four weeks later.</p><p>“Something is off about you…”.</p><p>Once again, the voice of his mother pulls him back to the presence and he looks at her like he just got caught by something, meeting the curiosity in her warm eyes.</p><p>“I’m fine”.</p><p>His lie sounds perfect, he is absolutely sure of that. But his mother wouldn’t be his mother if she wouldn’t sense the truth through all these adulterated words.</p><p>“Archie… I’m your mom. I know when something is wrong”. She reaches for an empty teacup from the middle of the table and pours some peppermint tea in it, the splashing sound of hot water filling the room.</p><p>When she pushes the cup towards him, he fights a smile on his lips, avoiding her gaze while he mumbles a quiet “Thank you”.</p><p>“Okay… we don’t need to talk about it”. When he looks up to her while she speaks there is an understanding smile on her face, and he is more than glad that his mother has this unbelievable fantastic sense of knowing when to ask questions and when to stop.</p><p>So, he simply nods while his gaze falls back to the teacup in front of him and his eyes get lost in the dark green color of peppermint-painted water.</p><p>It reminds him of the moment he once escaped a detention center minutes after he got stabbed into his stomach, while he fell out of an old drainpipe and all he could see was green everywhere. Green gras, green trees, green bushes but all above the green eyes of a beautiful blonde girl, the joy in Betty Coopers eyes when she saved his life with something simple as just looking back at him.</p><p>
  <em>What took you so long?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I could ask you the same thing.</em>
</p><p>His eyes are still on the teacup when the following words leave his mouth. “Mom… why did you leave dad all those years ago?”</p><p>The question seems to catch her off guard and he lifts his gaze to look at her surprised face. She doesn’t say a word for a long moment, obviously trying to find the right answer to his prompt question.</p><p>“It… there were a lot of different reasons, Archie. And it was a very difficult decision”.</p><p>He looks at her without any emotion on his face, wordlessly pleading her to keep talking.</p><p>“Alright…”. Mary takes her own teacup and sips on the hot water for a moment before she speaks again. “Leaving your dad wasn’t an overnight decision. It… it was the most difficult thing I ever did. Leaving him… leaving <em>you</em> was… hard”. A sad smile appears on her lips while she looks at him. “I loved your dad. I really did. But sometimes… people change, you know? And I don’t mean that in a bad way… I mean that all of us grow and learn and keep developing into new versions of ourselves. And you change and grow, and you have to keep finding a connection to your partner every single day. And one day you wake up and realize that not only your point of view changed for a lot of things… you also find yourself wondering why you’re doing the things you do in the first place.”</p><p>Mary takes deep breath, obviously trying to find the right words. “And one day, I looked at your dad… and I saw the same distant look in his eyes I could find in my own every time I looked into a mirror. We wanted different things in life… I wanted more; I couldn’t stay in Riverdale any longer. And your dad… you know he loved this town with all his heart. And I guess… at some point the things we wanted and expected from life were too different from the things the other wanted.”</p><p>Mary’s eyes were stuck on the table for a long while but now she lifts her head to look right into Archie’s eyes. “I loved your dad. And he loved me just the same. But sometimes, love just isn’t enough anymore. Interests change. Your point of view for a lot of things change. Your life changes. Your future changes. And even though your feelings for a certain person don’t seem to change… they actually do, affected by all the other things on your mind.”</p><p><em>Is this true?</em> This question circles in Archie’s mind the whole time his mother speaks, but he already knows the answer. <em>Of course, this is true.</em></p><p>He can feel it every time he says goodbye to Betty, he can see it in her eyes when she turns away from him after hugging him one last time.</p><p>He knows damn well that the future he would want with her and the future he will actually get are two very different things.</p><p>And now he is sitting here, starring at all his memories with Betty, looking at the wishes for his future at the same time, trying to put them together into a puzzle.</p><p>But as much as he wants these pieces to fit together… <em>they don’t.</em></p><p>And it’s like Mary can read her son’s mind as he looks up to her and their eyes meet in the middle.</p><p>“So, do you want to speak about Betty now?” Her voice is calming and steady and he loves and hates it at the same time that she seems to be able to read every single emotion on his face.</p><p>“The thing is, I don’t know what to say”, he admits quietly. “I… I think I never thought all of this through. Her and me, New Haven and Maryland, Yale and the Naval Academy… both of our worlds seem so different and unsuitable for each other. And I… I’m asking myself why I didn’t see this before”.</p><p>And even though he tried to avoid it with all his strength… Evan’s words cross his mind.</p><p>
  <em>You think you’re good for her, but you’re not.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>You’re just some Navy student.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>You’re not good enough for Betty… I mean do you know how miserable she seems to be because of you most of the time at the University? </em>
</p><p>Archie knows damn well that words from a complete stranger shouldn’t hit him this hard… but they do. Maybe because he now realizes that there might be something true about them.</p><p>The truth is, he is a Naval student. And Betty is a brilliant person that studies at Yale.</p><p>His future will be brutal and hard… and hers should be amazing. But as much as he want’s to see a better outcome of all of this… he can’t help but realize that as long as she will stay by his side, her future will be filled with the overwhelming feeling of missing, loosing and longing for someone that she will barely even see.</p><p>He knows damn well what he is talking about. He felt all those things for a whole year now and he didn’t miss the same emotions on her face every time he looked her in the eyes.</p><p>“Betty isn’t just your girlfriend”, Mary says with a lot of warmth in her voice. “She is also your best friend. She has been your best friend since you two were little kids. Don’t you think that you should talk with her about whatever bothers you”.</p><p>“But that’s the problem”, he admits, his voice as broken as he feels right now. “I don’t know what to say to her. The moment I will tell her that I don’t think we will be able to be happy all those years that will come, with her graduating at Yale in three years and me doing my duties all over the world with no real chance of a real relationship with her… in that moment I will lose these carefree and happy days I’m spending with her now when I see her. I’m not even sure what I want, so what am I even supposed to tell her?”</p><p>Mary looks at him for a very long moment until she answers. “I can’t tell you what to do, Archie. I can only speak for myself… and I knew the second I realized that I was only hurting your father no matter what I did… I let him go. It was the only way for both of us to get a happy life. Sometimes letting go of something is way easier than holding on with all your strength.”</p><p>A long moment filled with silence stretches between them and even though Archie’s hands are wrapped around the little teacup, his whole body feels like it’s freezing from the inside.</p><p>He knows his mom is right. He knows that all his worries are justified in the end.</p><p>But that doesn’t stop his voice from shaking the next time he speaks. “But I love her mom”.</p><p>A sad smile appears on her thin lips. “I know”.</p><p>And in the next moment Brooke steps into the room, in her hands a huge pot filled with some delicious smelling soup. “Who’s hungry?”, she asks with a wide smile while putting the soup on the table.</p><p>“I would love to… but I think I need to go to catch my train”. These words leave his mouth without real emotions and he catches the way his mother looks at him while he stands up. “I’m sorry I can’t stay longer”.</p><p>“It’s alright, Archie.” The smile on Mary’s lips tells him everything he needs to know. She isn’t mad because he is already leaving because she used to act the same way when she was younger.</p><p>“Alright, then I wish you an amazing time in New York!”, Brooke says happily, not knowing what kind of conversation he just went through with his mother. “You’re gonna tell us how it was, right?”</p><p>He grabs his coat from the chair and fights a smile on his face. “Of course”.</p><p>His mother is the one that accompanies him to the door. She pulls him to the side one last time before he can escape the house, her worried eyes scanning his emotionless face. “Follow your heart, Archie. I know Betty is your everything… so you should do what you think is right. Not what anyone else says”.</p><p>They share one last hug and he nods to her words as an answer. “Thank you, mom.”</p><p>“Nothing to thank”, she simply replies, squeezing his hand while he steps out the door. “Be careful, okay? New York isn’t Riverdale”.</p><p>That’s the only time he nearly laughs. “Yeah… I bet Riverdale is even worse”.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>“Betty!”</p><p>The moment he sees her on the streets of New York his heart seems to stop beating for a moment. Her blonde her and baby-blue coat are shining in the streetlights of this October night and he can’t even say something, can’t even react probably before she jumps in his arms.</p><p>“Welcome to New York”. He can feel her breath against the side of his neck while she wraps herself out his arms. Once those beautiful green eyes stare up to him, he remembers the color of peppermint-tea and he freezes for a moment, almost fading away into the memories from earlier that day. “How was your train ride?”</p><p>“Do you really want to know?” <em>Don’t ask me that. Because I spent almost three hours in a train, thinking about the words my mother told me today. Thinking about all the things Evan said to me. Thinking about my own worries and fears. Thinking about our past. Thinking about our future... Thinking about you. </em></p><p>He is more than glad that she changes the subject on her own while handing him one of the two keys for their hotel room. They go upstairs and he knows by the way she keeps looking for his reaction the moment they step into their room, that she is nervous about his opinion.</p><p>“It’s small and a total hovel… but I guess it works for two nights”.</p><p>“Are you kidding? This is amazing! It doesn’t matter how it looks… we’re in New York”. He takes two steps to the small window on the other side of the tiny room, feeling her eyes on his back the entire time.</p><p>Maybe he is avoiding her.</p><p>Maybe he tries to clear his mind by turning away every few seconds.</p><p>Maybe he doesn’t know what to feel, what to say or what to do.</p><p>And suddenly she is right beside him, destroying his marvelous plan of avoiding her within a heartbeat with her soft hand against his cheek and her green eyes starring up to him.</p><p>When her lips touch his he can feel his resistance break apart.</p><p>“Touch me”. Her voice never sounded so pleading before and he can’t help but to open his eyes, looking down at the girl in front of him.</p><p><em>One last try. One last try to keep distance.</em> “Don’t you want to see the city first?”</p><p>Her lips crash on his once again and his plans for the night fade away. Instead all the fears inside his head are haunting him, pushing him forward, screaming in his ears that every moment, every single touch with her is special, is something rare… is something he might not feel forever.</p><p>And so, he breaks, gives in to all the worries while shutting down his head completely and tries to follow his heart for this night.</p><p>The truth is, Archie doesn’t know what the right thing is. There are a lot of different opinions in his head, but he can’t bring himself to decide what will happen next.</p><p>So, he concentrates on the present, focuses on the girl he pushes to the bed, watches how she reaches for him, how she longs for his touch that seems to mirror his own desire.</p><p>He loves her body. He loves her personality. He simply loves everything about Betty Cooper.</p><p>But there is a dark cloud hanging over their future and he is almost sure she can see it too, by the way she holds on to him that night.</p><p>And so, he is letting her cling to him as long as she wants to, trying to convince himself that this is the right thing to do, trying to believe he is doing this for her and not for himself as well.</p><p>Her skin feels so much softer than his own under his rough hands and he could swear that she lost a few pounds during the last time he saw her. Concern rises in his chest, he wants to ask her if everything is alright, wants to ask for the reason she isn’t looking as healthy as usual.</p><p>But he already knows the answer.</p><p>It’s the same reason why he can’t sleep in some nights.</p><p>They are both captured in an unhealthy situation, a relationship that was once beautiful but now seems to become a shadow of their past, something they both try to chase day by day.</p><p>He tries to take away the pain she seems to be convinced is well hidden inside her head, but he knows the difference between loving someone because of happiness and loving someone because of sadness.</p><p>So, he tries to fight not only his demons, but her demons as well in that night.</p><p>
  <em>I’m here for you Betty. I always have been. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Yeah you have, haven’t you. </em>
</p><p>The truth is, he would do anything for this girl. That’s one thing, that never changed.</p><p>Hours later – <em>at least that’s what it feels like</em> – she is laying on his chest while he plays with her hair and he hates himself for being this weak around her. Her touch seems to be a like a spell sometimes and paired with the desperation inside her she seems to draw him towards her like a moth to the light.</p><p>“So much for Sight-Seeing”, he murmurs at one point.</p><p>“We can do it tomorrow”. Her voice is soft as she answers him. “Or in a few years… who knows… maybe we will visit New York again”.</p><p>He stays silent after her words, waiting if she will say something else while he wonders if she can hear his heartbeat through his chest.</p><p>
  <em>It’s like she knows. It’s like she knows what kind of fears are haunting me. It’s like she knows how unclear our future seems. </em>
</p><p>Another moment of silence passes by until she speaks again. “Or we will even live here together”.</p><p>This time he can clearly her the heartbreaking sadness in her words, even though she tries to sound as casual as possible.</p><p>His mind drifts away and he pictures a future with her by his side, both of them living in an apartment here in New York, sleeping side by side every night, waking up beside each other, spending not only weekends together, but also the daily, complicated life.</p><p>And then his heart breaks the moment he realizes that this life only exists in his head and the picture she just painted before his eyes are only a dream.</p><p>“That’s a pretty dream”, he says as normal as he can sound. “Maybe we will”. <em>But we won’t. At least not for the next eight years. </em></p><p>It’s like she can read his mind this time and even though he can’t see her face he immediately feels the sadness rising up her body and internally he screams because of the heartbreak he puts her through.</p><p>“Do you think we can go up the Statue of Liberty?” He tries to change the topic and starts talking about the next day, hoping to lift her mood with something stupid like Sight-Seeing. “I saw on television that you have to buy tickets months before you actually arrive here…”.</p><p>He knows damn well that she isn’t really listening to his words and he wants to say something that would make her feel better… but he can’t. There isn’t an easy way out, there isn’t some magical spell he can put on both of them. There is only reality and for the first time in his life, he realizes how screwed they really are.</p><p>That night he holds her closer than ever before while he is barely sleeping at all.</p><p>It’s the first time he saw the raw and undeniable sorrow inside the girl in his arms, that’s something he had suspected and feared, but never really witnessed to that extent.</p><p>
  <em>This is breaking her. This is breaking her apart and I’m the reason for that pain. </em>
</p><p>He holds her while she sleeps that night, desperately trying to protect her from bad dreams while he slowly realizes… <em>he already knows what he has to do.</em></p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>They wake up around 8 am the next morning and Archie waits a few minutes to find out if Betty is still as emotional as last night or if she wants to talk about the nightmares he damn well knows she had the last night.</p><p>But she only smiles at him after saying a sleepy “Good morning” before she jumps out of the bed and leaves to the bathroom.</p><p>When he hears the water pouring out of the shower he relaxes a little bit, starring at the grey ceiling above him.</p><p>Eventually, they will have to talk about the unspoken topic that is constantly standing between them every time they see each other. He can’t even tell at what point exactly these fears of the future came up in their heads.</p><p>Maybe when they witnessed Jessica and Luke’s break up at the beach house.</p><p>Maybe when he arrived to late in New Haven.</p><p>Maybe when she couldn’t make it to his Birthday party.</p><p>Maybe when he left Riverdale last year in July.</p><p>Or maybe all those little moments have gathered slowly in the background, silently, so quiet that neither him nor Betty payed attention to them. But looking back at all the times he missed her since they parted way last year, looking back at all the times they had to say goodbye over and over again, the times he wanted her by his side and the times he knew she wanted the same.</p><p>All those little details and disappointing moments between them have finally hit a boiling point and Archie now knows that there isn’t a coming back from this. They will have to talk about it, and when they do, their fate seems to be carved in stone.</p><p>Because they won’t be a huge reunion in three years, they won’t be an apartment for the both of them, at least not one where he will spend a huge amount of time in. There won’t be a job near Riverdale for him to serve his duty and there won’t be a job for Betty wherever the Navy wants to send him.</p><p>So, they can either play along with the charade, pretending like all those problems won’t matter in the end… or they start facing the truth now and will stop hurting each other along the way.</p><p>Archie decides to talk to Betty soon.</p><p><em>Sometime after New York</em>; he tells himself.</p><p>But once she steps out of the bathroom 30 minutes after her shower, dressed in some black jeans and a blue pullover, her hair styled in loose waves - something so casual but breathtaking at the same time – he tells himself that he could wait at least one more month with that conversation.</p><p>When they walk through the Central Park in the golden October sun, hand in hand like in one of those old romance movies he knows she used to love around the age of 14, he says to himself that he could wait till next year… <em>one or two months won’t make such a difference, right? </em></p><p>He watches her with admiration while she eats her pasta once they sit in a restaurant in Manhattan. The topic of their conversation is something simple like the temperature or the many people on the streets, but he could sit here and listen to her soothing voice for another day.</p><p>Once they return to the Hotel around noon to change clothes for Veronica’s party and he sees Betty in her white dress with pink flowers scattered over the thin fabric and her hair gently pinned up at the back of her head with some blonde hair strains framing her pretty face, he can’t help but take a step forward and steal a kiss from her red-shining lips. <em>Who cares, right? Right now, she is here, and I am here. Right now, the world is still spinning around.</em></p><p>She kisses him back like she always does and a tiny part of him feels guilty by the happy look she gives him right after. “You look amazing”, she says while her hands slide over the hard material of the dark blue suit he bought for this event.</p><p>“And you look…”. <em>Beautiful. Pretty. Breathtaking. Adorable. Sexy. Sweet</em>. “… quite alright”.</p><p>She pokes his arm gently, rolling her eyes. “Thanks for that, Mr. Andrews”.</p><p>And in that moment, he doesn’t think about their future or about the decision he made about his relationship with Betty. All he can do is look at this beautiful woman in front of him, the voice in his head asking him why he even wants to end the best thing in his life right now.</p><p><em>I don’t want to hurt her anymore</em>; he reassures himself. <em>I don’t want to keep hurting her. This long-distance relationship is tearing her apart and I can’t keep doing this to her. </em></p><p>But it’s like the voice in his head finally seems to shut up and he simply smiles down to Betty while she reaches for her small, beige purse and her coat and he follows her out of the room, not able to tear his eyes away from the beautiful girl beside him. “You’re welcome, Miss Cooper”.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>Veronica’s Birthday party is at a restaurant located in Manhattan, a pretty event hall on the 25<sup>th</sup> floor in one of the million skyscrapers around them.</p><p>Maybe it should feel weird for Archie to see his ex-girlfriend again, but the truth is… it isn’t.</p><p>Probably because Veronica Lodge is so much more than just his ex-girlfriend. She isn’t only a huge part of his past; she is also a friend to him and to Betty as well.</p><p>That’s why it doesn’t feel awkward at all when they meet each other once Betty and he step into the beautiful, wide room decorated with a lot of violet and gold garlands. There are about 30 people already dancing and talking on the huge dance floor and he can’t help but smile about the fact that Veronica has returned to a life at New York with not only a birthday party this huge, but also a big circle of friends like this one.</p><p>Veronica is dressed in a long, black dress with her straightened hair falling around her tanned shoulders, a wide smile on her dark-red lips when she walks towards them in some glittery high heels.</p><p>“You’re here!!” There isn’t one bit of restraint in her actions while she pulls both of them in a warm hug. “Welcome to New York!”</p><p>Her smile shines bright once they part again and Betty’s voice beside him echoes over the loud but pleasant music around them. “You look amazing, Veronica”.</p><p><em>Yeah, she really does</em>; he admits. <em>But not as amazing as you, Betts. </em></p><p>The black-haired girl had always a strict, elegant style wrapped around her body, something that fits almost perfectly to the furnishing and decoration in this huge party room. Everything seems coordinated like it always did with Veronica… something that isn’t bad but also not made for everyone.</p><p>“Have you seen yourself, B? You look <em>stunning</em>”.</p><p>Archie will never understand the undeniable love between these two girls in front of him, both looking like the exact opposite of each other like some modern version of Yin and Yang. He decides to keep his thoughts to himself while Veronica leads them to the bar at the side of the room with a short wink to the smiling bar tender, ordering them some drinks that aren’t really made for people under the age of 21.</p><p>“Kevin should be here somewhere too”, Veronica says while they both take their glasses filled with some red fluid. “He’s the one wearing a red suit… shouldn’t be hard to miss him… oh, there are Katy and Devon!” With a short “<em>Excuse me</em>” she leaves them at the bar and rushes to the entrance once again, greeting the newly arrived guests with tight hugs.</p><p>“This place is amazing”. Betty’s words sound impressed and he looks at her wide eyes while she stares around the room with a half-opened mouth.</p><p>“It is”, he admits, even though he doesn’t seem to care as much as Betty does.</p><p>Archie never really wanted any kind of designer-clothes or expensive parties in the middle of New York City. Maybe because his dad always taught him to be economical and frugal about things like this.</p><p>“I wish we could to something like this more often”. Betty doesn’t sound wistful… but he can sense the hidden melancholy behind her words. He watches her taking the first sip of her expensive-looking drink while she is standing in this marvelous, golden lighting and he realizes that Betty actually seems to fit into this world.</p><p>This realization hits him like a truck. Maybe because she was always the girl next door dressed in dungarees, wearing two braids while walking with him to middle school. A part of him always believed that Betty was meant to stay in Riverdale forever, just like it was his destiny to spent his life there as well.</p><p>But watching her elegant movements in her chic clothes in this remarkable place he watches his believes disappear in front of his own eyes and he truly realizes that Betty doesn’t only belong to Riverdale.</p><p>Betty deserves everything she wants and that seems to be a lifestyle that includes events like this.</p><p>Without even carrying, Archie drinks the whole cocktail in his hands, his mind flying in circles while he realizes that no matter what he does, no matter how hard he want’s to avoid it… Betty’s and his version of the future seems to form into two separate, different dreams.</p><p>He puts those thoughts aside as soon as he sees a red-haired girl, dressed in a rubicund colored overall, hand in hand with a pretty brunette by her side, making their way towards them trough the crowd.</p><p>“Oh my god, Cheryl!” Betty is the first one to hug the two girls and he is glad that these new arrived guests are ripping him out of his self-destructive thoughts.</p><p>“Hello, cousin… glad to see your style of fashion improved over time”.</p><p>Archie rolls his eyes without being surprised because <em>common</em> – Cheryl Blossom wouldn’t be Cheryl Blossom without her outstanding talent for direct statements and unsensitive comments.</p><p>“Nice to see you, Cheryl. Hi Toni, you look great”. He hugs both girls, more glad than surprised that these two are still together.</p><p>“Archie Andrews… you finally start to look like a man. Congrats”. Cheryl dedicates him a bright smile and he can only shake his head with a delightful laugh coming over his lips.</p><p>“Thank you, Cheryl… I kind of missed your sarcastic comments”.</p><p>“I bet you did… and I wasn't being sarcastic”, is her sharp reply but under her words lies happiness that seems to shine through, the second Toni squeezes her hand. “Be nice, Cheryl”.</p><p>The brunette turns her head towards Archie. “So, Andrews… what have you been up this last year? Tell us about the Navy.”</p><p>And so, the next fifteen minutes go by while he talks about the training he went through these last few months, describing the physical exercises and the study subjects as best as he can.</p><p>“And do you have any ideas where they will station you after your training?” Toni is already on her second drink by the time he finally finished his story about the first University year.</p><p>“I have no idea”. He laughs a bit unsure. “I guess I have to wait to find out… I mean that day is still three years away”.</p><p>“And how long will that mandatory time be?”</p><p>“Another five years…”. He tries his best to sound optimistic while he answers, but he knows by the look on Cheryl and Toni’s faces, that his words don’t sound happy at all. And suddenly Toni’s face turns to Betty who is sitting beside him on one of the many bar chairs. He follows her eyes, takes a look at the blonde girl beside him, but Betty is wearing a very composed facial expression, not one word leaving her mouth.</p><p>There is an uncomfortable moment of silence between the four of them until Cheryl changes the subject. “So, who want’s another round of cocktails?”</p><p>And with that, the lurking topic of him and Betty’s future is swept under the carpet once again and he tries his best to smile in the following minutes while he orders some drinks for all of them.</p><p><em>Don’t ruin this evening for her</em>; he tells himself.</p><p>But that isn’t as easy as it seems. They talk to Cheryl and Toni for another fifteen minutes, topics like the Riverdale Community College or High School flying around.</p><p>And then – after half an hour – Kevin appears.</p><p>“Hey girls! Nice to see all of you again, Hi Archie!”</p><p>There are a lot of hugs and laughs after that before Kevin sits down on the chair beside Archie’s. “Man, that is a great party… I’ve been dancing for the last hour and I don’t think Veronica will let me leave without another two dancing sessions”.</p><p>He laughs at his words. “Yeah, that sound’s like her”.</p><p>“Do you guys want to dance?” Cheryl is pulling her long hair up into a ponytail while nodding towards the crowded dancing area.</p><p>He shakes his head while grabbing his drink from the bar, watching how Toni reaches her hand out for Betty. “Common, Betty… let’s dance without the boys”.</p><p>The blonde girls’ eyes find Archie’s before she gets pulled away and he only laughs at the defeated look on her face. “Have fun!”, he yells after her. “I’ll watch”.</p><p>The music changes into some old pop-song and he witnessed how the girls disappear into the crowd of happy people while he watches the whole spectacle with Kevin as a silent company beside him.</p><p>“Hey Archie… I know we haven’t spoken in a while and I don’t know if this is appropriate or not… but I just have to ask…”. Kevin beside him shifts on his seat while he takes another sip of his blue cocktail. “… do you know how Betty feels about this whole <em>Navy-long-distance-many-years-apart</em> kind of thing?”</p><p>He hates how Kevin’s words seem to catch him off guard, even though this exact topic has been circling in his mind for the last weeks.</p><p>A solid minute goes by until he is able to answer. “I know how she feels, Kevin”. <em>She feels absolutely miserable… just like me. </em></p><p>“Do you?”, is Kevin’s reply. “Because I talked with Betty yesterday and… I haven’t seen her like this in a very long time. She seemed devastated… almost broken. I know I shouldn’t tell you this, because she told me all those things in secret. But… I really think you should talk to her about it.”</p><p>Another silent minute goes by.</p><p>“I…”. He searches for the right words to say. “Kevin, you have no idea how hard this whole situation is… not only for her, it’s damn difficult for me as well. I <em>know</em> how exhausting this relationship got in the last year, I <em>know</em> that it isn’t easy for her… and I damn well know that I have to talk to her about it and I promise you I would love to do it… but I simply don’t know what to say to her…”.</p><p>This time Kevin is the one that seems to search for the right words. “I can only imagine what it feels like to only see each other every few months… and I have a lot of respect for your two because of that. But I can’t tell you what you should say to her… I can only tell you what I heard from Betty… and how miserably she seemed.”</p><p>Archie’s eyes suddenly find Betty in the crowd a few feet away from them and he watches how she turns around in rhythm to the music, laughing with the other girls around her like she hasn’t done for a long time.</p><p>“She loves you Archie. And I know you love her too… but you have to do something. The current situation isn’t good for her”.</p><p>“Do you think I don’t know that?” These words come out a bit sharper that he intended them to be. He turns his head, meets Kevin’s eyes beside him. “I’m sorry… it’s just… it’s just a really shitty situation”.</p><p>“I know”, the brunette guy replies with a soft smile. “I’m just trying to help you”.</p><p>Archie simply nods while his heart begins to feel heavy again, all the emotions he tried to burry for tonight are slowly making their way back to the surface. <em>Great.</em></p><p>He could scream at Kevin for making him remember that his days with Betty are numbered, that his time with her is short.</p><p>But he already knows since last night, that at one point, he will have to end this whole mess… even though it will break his heart.</p><p>
  <em>But not tonight. Don’t ruin this night… be happy a bit longer. </em>
</p><p>His eyes catch the beautiful girl in the crowd once again, watches how Betty’s blonde hair flies through the air with every move she makes and without thinking about it, he places the drink in his hand on the table behind him. He stands up once the music changes in a slower song and he makes his way over to the dance floor, his gaze never leaving the sight of Betty’s pretty face within the crowd of unknown people.</p><p>She sees him the second he steps in front of her, reaching her his hand with a warm smile on his lips. “Do you want to dance?”</p><p>Clear surprise is written on her face as she takes his hand. “You? Dancing? <em>For real?</em>”</p><p>He laughs as he pulls her towards him, and she melts into his body like it is the most natural thing in the world. “Shut up and dance with me”.</p><p>The laugh on her lips gets replaced by a soft smile as she puts her arms around his neck, her finger brushing over the soft hair on the back of his head for a short moment.</p><p>As the music gets slower, the people around them pair up into duos, all of them dancing slowly to some old love-song as Archie’s eyes fall down to Betty’s face and he watches how the soft, yellow light seems to paint her into a beautiful picture.</p><p>He stares at her for what feels like forever and she simply looks back up to him while they move in almost identical movements, dancing around each other like they did for the last few years.</p><p>“Why are you looking at me like that?” Her question is paired with a quiet laugh and raised eyebrows.</p><p>
  <em>Because I want to remember every moment I spent with you.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Because I want to take in every second I’m close to you. </em>
</p><p><em>Because one day… I won’t be able to see your face again</em>.</p><p>“There isn’t a reason”, he answers with a slight shrug of his shoulders and she laughs a little about his reaction. “Maybe I just want to look at you when I get the chance”.</p><p>His last words were meant to sound happy or a bit funny, but the second he sees sadness rising in her eyes, he knows he said something dumb.</p><p>“Betty…”.</p><p>“It doesn’t matter”, she quickly replies, brushing off his words like they are nothing. “I know that this weekend is just one of the few times we’ll see each other… and that’s okay”.</p><p>
  <em>No, it’s not okay. And it shouldn’t be okay. </em>
</p><p>He wants to say something else, wants to tell her that everything will be fine in the end. But there is a devastating amount of sorrow appearing on her face within seconds, shining in her eyes like the reddest flag he ever saw in his life.</p><p>And suddenly, the song is over and faster music begins to play. That’s the moment she steps backwards, and he let’s go of her.</p><p>“I’ll be right back”, she says and fights a smile on her lips while she looks up to him before adding the mumbles words “… bathroom… just a second”.</p><p>With that, she leaves him there on the dance floor as she walks away and he can see her façade fall the second she turns away from him. There is no doubt that she is about to cry while she escapes through the crowd of people and everything around him seems to slow down while he watches her leave.</p><p>
  <em>One, two, three, four…</em>
</p><p>He counts to ten in his mind, not really knowing why. Probably because he needs to calm himself down. Maybe because everything seems to fall apart right in his hands and he just got to a point where he can’t avoid it for much longer.</p><p>And suddenly, there isn’t any other choice anymore. There is only one right way and he damn well knows that.</p><p>There isn’t a future where Betty will be happy by his side and a part of him wanted to deny it for another couple of weeks… but some things in life can’t be planned.</p><p>Things like sadness… like truth… things like destiny.</p><p>He thinks back to the words his mother told him yesterday and how he now knows that sometimes loving someone could mean that you have to let them go at some point. And he knows that this might be the most difficult thing he will ever do in his life and he will probably never even forgive himself for that… but his relationship with Betty has been rushing towards an abyss these last few months and the only way to move forward is to take the risk and jump.</p><p>He ignored her pain for far too long. And maybe he ignored his own as well.</p><p>But they simply reached a point where they can't ignore certain things anymore.</p><p>Archie thought way too long, tried to hold on for what feels like a century and he knows if he won't let go tonight, he won't ever be able to set her free. </p><p>
  <em>Now. </em>
</p><p>The voice in his head keeps telling him what to do the moment he takes a step forward and makes his way through the dancing people, following Betty outside the room.</p><p>
  <em>Not tomorrow, not next week, not next month. Now. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Because this has to stop. I can’t keep hurting her like this. </em>
</p><p>He finds Cheryl in front of the ladies’ bathroom and finds out Betty isn’t in there.</p><p>“She went that way”, Cheryl only says while pointing towards the end of the corridor.</p><p>“Thank you”. His voice is just an echo from his mind.</p><p>“What are you doing?” She yells after him while he walks down the hallway.</p><p>
  <em>“What I have to do”.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>Betty doesn’t really know how she ended up on the rooftop of this building.</p><p>Probably because she really didn’t have the nerve to explain to Cheryl on the lady’s bathroom why she is crying on a beautiful birthday party. Or maybe because she simply wanted to get some fresh air to clear her head.</p><p>Her feet are shaking while she steps over the hard floor, her heels clacking on the concrete beneath her as she walks towards the railing, starring over the beautiful skyline of New York City.</p><p>It’s quiet up here. Almost peaceful.</p><p>She closes her eyes for a moment, feeling the wind of the night freezing the tears on her cheeks while she wraps her arms around her body, trying to shield herself from the cold.</p><p>
  <em>“Betty”. </em>
</p><p>At first she thinks she is only imagining his voice and she opens her eyes to stare at the stars above.</p><p>“Betty…”. The second time she turns around and finds Archie standing at the door of the stairwell.</p><p>His dark suit is matching the black sky above them while he slowly takes one step after another in her direction. She knows by the shadows on his face that he can see the tears in her eyes and she reached a point where she doesn’t even want to hide them anymore.</p><p>“I’m sorry”, is all she can get out, almost choking out the words.</p><p>He stops a few feet away from her like he doesn’t know how to reach her anymore and they stare at each other like they are suddenly strangers to each other.</p><p>“Don’t be sorry for feeling things”, he answers after a while.</p><p>“But I am”, she responses immediately. “I’m <em>so sorry</em> that I’m such a… wreck. It’s truly embarrassing that I can’t even attend a birthday party without feeling like a mess”.</p><p>She shakes her head, disappointed in herself.</p><p><em>I was doing so well</em>; she thinks.</p><p>She knew that she was having problems with accepting that her relationship with Archie would be a long-distance thing for the next few years. Realizing that she wouldn’t get a normal relationship with him before he will return from his five years of service at the Navy was way harder than she thought it would be. But she was doing so well… she was hiding all of that, even though it broke her heart every single time they talked about the future. Like last night, when he told her having an apartment with her in New York would only be a <em>dream</em>.</p><p>She tried to hide it… she really did. But at one point, hiding just gets too hard.</p><p>“Betty, you have every right to be sad”, Archie says but she only shakes her head again, because that’s not how she feels like at all.</p><p>“I’m not sad”, she replies. “I’m <em>mad</em>. I’m so mad at myself because I was being so blind and naïve the last year… I… I really thought everything would be fine as long as we would stay together. And I don’t know how I’m having such a hard time right now, maybe because everyone around me is either moving in together, or so damn happy in their relationship… I don’t know”.</p><p>She wipes the tears from her cold cheeks because – <em>hell, this is embarrassing</em> - but it just feels great to say everything out loud. “So, I’m sorry, Arch… I’m sorry for feeling this way. But I promise you, this has nothing to do with you or with us… this is <em>my</em> problem. And I have to deal with it”.</p><p>The silence of the night surrounds them like a quiet melody and he just looks at her while she speaks, an unreadable expression on his face. “Betty, I…”. His voice sounds foreign and dark and all above so silent that she fears she isn’t even able to hear every word he says. “I don’t think this is working anymore…”.</p><p>Second after second passes by while she just stares back to him, green eyes glittering in the night sky. Maybe it’s the pure shock in her bones that takes all her words away.</p><p>There is something absolutely heartbreaking written on his face, an expression she never saw before in her entire life. And Betty Cooper knows how rejection from Archie Andrews looks like. She saw the pain on his face in her front yard when she asked him if he loved her all those years ago. But this right here… this is different.</p><p>“<em>What?</em>” Is all she is able to say while she can hear her heartbeat pounding through her chest.</p><p>She can see the hesitation in his eyes, but the second he speaks again, it looks like something inside him switched and determination is laying on his face like a mask. “I don’t think we should see each other anymore, Betty… I don’t think this is very smart”.</p><p>“<em>Smart?</em>” Her voice is filled with disbelieve. “Smart?! You think I care about that? You think I care about what is <em>smart</em>?” Anger is filling her veins, slowly, steady, like something she can’t control. “Trust me, I know what is smart and what isn’t… but I don’t care, alright? I’m not in a relationship with you because it’s <em>smart</em>, I’m with you because I’m in love with you!”</p><p>Normally these words bring joy on his face, but this time he stays cold and she can only stand there and watch the disaster unfold. “Arch, what happened? Talk to- “</p><p>“… I don’t want to hurt you anymore”, he interrupts her with his explanation. “I can’t keep doing this Betty… you know why”.</p><p>He steps closer and now she can see the mixture of emotions dancing over his face. “Betty… we both know where this will end… and we both know that this will tear us down. We’re both unhappy when we are apart and the time we spent together is always too short and that makes us miserable.”</p><p>She knows he is right. But that doesn’t stop her from holding on to him for dear life. “I know, okay?”, is all she can say to that. “I know that this isn’t easy… and I know things aren’t exactly perfect for us right now. But that doesn’t change how I feel about you, Archie. I know this sucks and I know it hurts… but I can’t lose you just because I miss you”.</p><p><em>This is ridiculous</em>, she thinks. <em>He can’t actually mean what he is saying</em>.</p><p>She watches how he takes another step in her direction and stops three feet away from her and all she wants to do is walk over and throw herself into his arms. But she seems to be frozen in place the moment he speaks again.</p><p>“I love you Betty…”. A beat of silence follows his almost desperate words and for a minute he looks like he is about to change his mind. “… but I can’t keep doing this”.</p><p>It feels like she can hear her own blood rushing through her ears as she stands there, the cold October night clinging to the thin fabric of her dress, his words echoing in her mind.</p><p>“So… so what?” Her voice trembles and her body shivers and for a moment she thinks she is about to collapse on top of this skyscraper. “You… you want to break up with me?”</p><p>She wants to put an ironic grimace on her face, wants to show him how ridiculous all of this seems but all she can manage is a sad smile in the corner of her mouth.</p><p>
  <em>Please don’t.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Please don’t leave me. </em>
</p><p>He doesn’t say a word for a long, painful moment but the look on his face is answer enough. The second she realizes that he is not only willing to do this, but actually determined enough to do this <em>right now</em>, new tears run over the cold skin of her face and she starts losing control over all her emotions.</p><p>“Arch, you can’t leave me”, she simply says like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “We’re… we’re best friends. We’ve grown up with each other…”.</p><p>Even though she tries everything in her power, she can already see how her words seem to ricochet once they reach him and she slowly realizes that she is about to lose him for good… and that’s what brings the anger back.</p><p>“Archie, you love me, don’t you?” Suddenly the words come out of her mouth in a much stronger way than before. “And I know that this situation isn’t the best right now, I mean I know how you feel because I feel it too! But that didn’t stop me from believing in us! Is this because the apartment in New York thing I asked last night? Because I don’t want that anymore, okay? We don’t have to move in together, we don’t have to do anything you don’t want… but please don’t do this. I know the distance between us sucks and is exhausting… but that doesn’t matter to me, alright? Because I love you, and that is more important to me than anything else”.</p><p>Her own words give her hope the moment she tells them because how in the world can’t he see how much she needs him?</p><p>“Right now, this might seem hard, but in a few years, we can be together every single day”, she adds with every emotion in her voice that she feels in her bones. “Just like when we were little”.</p><p>A deeply sad smile appears on Archie’s face and he stares to the stars for a moment before he answers. “Betty… I don’t think you realize how different our futures look right now”. He takes another small step towards her. “You are this amazing, perfect Yale student. You will graduate and you will find a fantastic job and you will be happy and successful”. He holds in for a second until he adds. “And I’m gonna be someone that fights for the Navy… my life won’t be as glamorous as yours… and to be honest, I don’t really see a place for me in your future”.</p><p>This leaves her speechless for a long moment while she tries to read his face like she used to before. “You don’t really mean this, do you?” The shock in her words is undeniable. “You’re actually telling me that my future or my life or whatever is too <em>perfect</em> for you?”</p><p>She realizes by the look on his face that he knows exactly why these words seem so familiar.</p><p>
  <em>You’re so perfect. I’m not good enough for you. I’ll never be good enough for you.</em>
</p><p>“You don’t really mean this, do you, Arch?” Her voice sounds unsure and fragile. “I mean… what about the time we spend at the beach… or the time in Maryland? I… I mean I love you. And you love me… don’t you?” Her words are simple and make sense in her mind and the moment he looks at her in a much more vulnerable way than before she gets new hope to convince him otherwise.</p><p>But the next time he speaks again, the October wind seems to tear her hope away from her.</p><p>“Sometimes love just isn’t enough anymore”. His words hit her in the face, and she would stumble backwards if she wouldn’t be frozen in place.</p><p>It feels like the world is spinning around without her as Betty is standing in the dark, starring at the guy she loves with all her heart, her voice only a broken sound. “So… <em>you don’t love me enough?</em>”</p><p>She looks into his eyes and he stares right back and for a single moment, she feels the connection between them like a warm flame, like something that seems to hold them together even over thousands of miles.</p><p>“I love you Betty… but I don’t want to spend the next years waiting for single moments with you. I want a carefree future… <em>and that’s what I love more</em>”.</p><p>And just like that the flame between them dies.</p><p>
  <em>He doesn’t love me enough. </em>
</p><p>“Archie, please… can we talk about- “ She tries one last time but he cuts her off in the middle of her sentence.</p><p>“I’m sorry Betty”. And then she sees a small tear in the corner of his eyes while he looks at her. “I’m so sorry it has to be this way”.</p><p>She doesn’t even feel the beating of her own heart as she watches how he turns around in slow motion.</p><p><em>Stay</em>; she screams in her head. <em>Please stay</em>.</p><p>But not one word leaves her mouth as she watches him walk away from her. All she can do is stand there under the cold night sky with nothing left than her own tears.</p><p>
  <em>He doesn’t love me enough… he doesn’t love me enough. </em>
</p><p>His words circle through her mind over and over again while she watches him opening the door to the stairwell and for a second, he holds in like he wants to turn around one more time.</p><p>And she waits, holding in her breath for a moment… but then he steps through the door and she loses sight of him.</p><p>That’s the moment she breaks down into tears while she tries everything to keep standing on two feet.</p><p>
  <em>I want a carefree future… and that’s what I love more than you.</em>
</p><p>His words seem to tear her down second by second and she pressed her hands to her head, surrendering silently.</p><p>
  <em>You are this amazing, perfect Yale student. You will graduate and you will find a fantastic job and you will be happy and successful… and to be honest, I don’t really see a place for me in your future.</em>
</p><p>His words echo over the roof, get carried away with the wind and the stars in front of her eyes disappear as new tears run down her cheeks and she sinks down to her knees as her heart bursts into a million little pieces.</p><p>“<em>Don’t leave me</em>”. Her voice is a cold whisper, a heartbreaking sound coming over her frozen lips… but it doesn’t even matter anymore. There is no one here to hear them anyway.</p><p>So the girl next door gets left behind while she tries to realize what exactly just happend here, the darkness from the night sky nearly swallowing her while warm tears run down her icy cheeks.</p><p>
  <em>He's gone.</em>
</p><p>And the only thing left for Betty is the memory of a man that has now turned into a complete <em>stranger.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Thought We Built A Dynasty</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A HUGE Thank You to every single person that left a comment or a kudo here or on twitter!!<br/>You guys have no idea how happy your feedback makes me :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>Made it through the maze<br/>To find my one in a million<br/>And now you're just a page torn from the story I'm building</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>And all I gave you is gone<br/>Tumble like it was stone</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Thought we built a dynasty that heaven couldn't shake<br/>Thought we built a dynasty, like nothing ever made<br/>Thought we built a dynasty forever couldn't break up</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>But It all fell down<br/>- MIIA </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>Archie had never seen something more beautiful that Betty Cooper in her flower dress, standing on the rooftop of a skyscraper with the New York skyline in the background and the deep dark night above her golden hair.</p><p>And if he would have followed his heart instead of his head, he would have marched towards her without saying a word, brushed the tears away from her cold cheeks and would have kissed her cherry-colored lips as long as she wanted him to. That would be a perfect dream.</p><p>But in reality, he broke Betty’s heart. And while doing so, he did the same to his own.</p><p><em>“I don’t think this is working anymore”</em>. Those words were the truth… but all these stupid things that followed, were just cruel and horrible words he used to push her away from him.</p><p>He tried to explain it to her, tried to explain how it felt like he was making her sad over and over again. But Betty has been stubborn all her life and <em>of course</em> she wouldn’t listen to him.</p><p>
  <em>“I don’t think we should see each other anymore, Betty… I don’t think this is very smart”. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I don’t want to hurt you anymore. I can’t keep doing this Betty… you know why”. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I love you Betty… but I can’t keep doing this”. </em>
</p><p>It’s not like he didn’t try to tell her how he felt. He did.</p><p>But he saw on the look on her face that she wouldn’t let him go just like that, that they had been through too much together and she wouldn’t just leave that easily.</p><p>So, he had to lie.</p><p><em>“You are this amazing, perfect Yale student. You will graduate and you will find a fantastic job and you will be happy and successful”.</em> Well, that much is true… Archie really believed that Betty would become a successful woman with a happy life.</p><p><em>“And I’m gonna be someone that fights for the Navy… my life won’t be as glamorous as yours… and to be honest, I don’t really see a place for me in your future”.</em> The first part might have been true, but the last sentence was a lie.</p><p>Of course, he could see a future with her by his side.</p><p>But she wouldn’t be able to live the life she always wanted for herself. A life with a boyfriend right by her side. A life where she moves in with someone when she wants to, a life where she won’t be haunted by the constant feeling of missing someone.</p><p>
  <em>“I love you Betty… but I don’t want to spend the next years waiting for single moments with you. I want a carefree future… and that’s what I love more”.</em>
</p><p>Maybe this was the worst lie of them all. That was the moment he could see how pure shock was painted over her face and she actually believed him. Like he would be happy without her… like he could have a better life without her… it’s still a mystery to him how she could believe all this crap he told her in that night.</p><p>“I’m sorry Betty”. His own words sounded like the voice of someone else and that’s the point he nearly broke, and a single tear ren over his cheek. “I’m so sorry it has to be this way”.</p><p>And so, he looked at her for one last time, memorizing her beautiful face in the city lights around them, before he tore his eyes away, forcing himself to leave this place.</p><p>Archie had done a lot of difficult things in his life.</p><p>But not one of them came close to the feeling of letting Betty Cooper go, leaving her in the dark, abandoning her while she was pleading him to stay.</p><p><em>I want to stay, Betty</em>; he thought while he left the rooftop without any emotion left in his body. <em>I want to stay with you forever… but I can’t.</em> <em>I need to let you go now.</em></p><p>The hallway was empty once he was back in the building and without going back in the party room, he turned to the elevator and made his way down to the ground floor.</p><p>There was a stabbing pain in his chest whenever his thoughts went back to the girl on the roof and he remembered the tears on her pretty face and the way her trembling hands have reached out for him just minutes ago.<em> I’m so sorry Betty. </em></p><p>The rest of the night was over quickly.</p><p>Without any real emotions left inside him, Archie made his way back to the Hotel and grabbed his backpack from the little table beside the small window, his whole body shaking while he tried his best to ignore the smell of <em>her</em> perfume still lingering in the air or the sight of <em>her</em> clothes that are still lying on her side of the tiny bed.</p><p>Maybe he would have stayed if he would have listened to his heart right there… but Archie made this choice purely with his head and after talking to Betty on the rooftop that night, it felt like all emotions inside him were locked away at a place his heart couldn’t reach anymore.</p><p>So, he didn’t look back when he left the key Betty gave him just a day before and he hurried out of the room and tried to stay emotionless the whole taxi drive to the train station.</p><p>Hours flew by while he sat in the uncomfortable seat in the old train after taking the first ticket that would bring him back to Maryland, his tired eyes fixed on the blurry and light-grey landscape outside the dirty window.</p><p>
  <em>Breath in, breath out. And by all means, don’t dare to think about what you just did. </em>
</p><p>And everything was going well. Archie was sure, if he would bring enough miles between him and Betty, or between him and the possible mistake he just made, everything would feel a little bit better.</p><p>But now he is here, returning to Annapolis in the early morning hours and steps out of the train, when he suddenly feels his phone vibrating in the pockets of the suit he’s still wearing.</p><p>
  <em>Incoming call – <strong>Betty Cooper, 06:14 am</strong></em>
</p><p>And then his heart drops to the floor and he stares at the little screen in his hands for a whole minute. The second her name disappears, and she gets send to the voicemail, he hates himself for not only being weak but also being a coward.</p><p><em>This is for the best</em>, he tells himself. <em>She is better off without me.</em></p><p>At least that’s what the voice in his head keeps telling him all the way back to the Academy, while his phone rings over and over again, a quiet buzz in his pockets, silently screaming at him that he is doing the wrong thing.</p><p>After the fifth call Betty seems to give up and he closes his eyes for a short moment of relief, breathing in the cold morning air before entering the front door of the Academy.</p><p>It is too early on this Sunday morning, so the hallways are still empty when Archie is making his way through the quiet corridors. Almost in a numb way he reaches for his keys and opens the dorm room, finding a still sleeping Luke Perez while closing the door behind him.</p><p>The moment he throws his backpack onto his bed the blonde guy on the other side of the room wakes up with an alarmed expression on his sleepy face. “Fuck! Dude, what the hell are you doing here?! You scared the shit out of me!”</p><p>Archie doesn’t answer right away. Maybe because his whole body still seems to be in some kind of shock, maybe because he has no idea what he should answer to that.</p><p>“Are you… wearing a <em>suit</em>?” Luke sounds more awake now while Archie tries to unravel the tie around his neck, his emotionless face still turned to the grey wall in front of him. “Hey man… talk to me. If thought you would stay all day in the big city”.</p><p>Finally, he unties the knot around his neck and throws the soft fabric to the floor beside him while turning around to his roommate with tired eyes, his voice sounding like a broken record. “I broke up with Betty”.</p><p>A long moment of silence follows his words while Luke just stares up to him with shock but also disbelieve painted on his sleepy face. “You… you did?” He asks like he isn’t quite sure if he heard him right.</p><p>Archie simply nods while his feet give in and he sinks down on the mattress behind him, sitting on his bedsheets with what feels like a huge hole in the middle of his chest. <em>What have I done?</em></p><p>“Damn… I’m sorry, Archie”. Luke sits up on his own bed. “What happened?”</p><p>He has no idea how he manages to open his mouth, but Archie ends up telling Luke everything what happened in New York. He tells him about his thoughts regarding his relationship with Betty, he tells him about the worries and doubts and all above the pain he saw in her eyes every time they spend time together.</p><p>“I… I had to stop it…”, he says at one point, his eyes fixed on a point at the wall across the room. “I couldn’t hurt her anymore… I knew that this wasn’t going to work… or at least it wouldn’t be what she deserves, you know? I just… I couldn’t live with the thought, that I was making her unhappy”.</p><p>And after a long pause filled with silence, Luke tells him that he understands. “It’s similar to what happened with me and Jess. I get it, you know… it’s the only right way. But that doesn’t make it easier… and it still hurts like hell”.</p><p>There isn’t anything that Archie can do at this point instead of pulling the corner of his mouth up into a defeated, sad smile. “Luke… I feel like I did a horrible mistake… Betty and I… we’ve been best friends since we were four. I don’t know… I don’t know if I can do this without her”.</p><p><em>I want to turn back time. I want to tell her that I love her more than life. I want to shout it from this damn rooftop that no matter what life brings us, we will get through it together</em>.</p><p>“Would you do it differently?” Luke’s question hits him unprepared. “If you could go back these few hours… would you stay with her?”</p><p><em>I would love to</em>; he admits in his mind. <em>There isn’t one thing in this world that I would want more.</em></p><p>Except… there isn’t. There is one thing in this world that he wants more. And that is Betty’s happiness.</p><p>And all he knows is that he might have been the one that made her happy for many, many years… but he stopped being good for her the moment he left for the Navy.</p><p>“No.” So, his answer might sound cold, but there is so much emotion lying underneath his words. “I wouldn’t do it differently… and I wouldn’t stay with her”.</p><p>Luke nods while they keep eye contact for a moment. “You’re gonna be okay, man?”</p><p><em>No, Luke. I don’t think I will ever be okay again</em>. “Yeah… I think I’ll just sleep for a few hours”.</p><p>“Okay… and Archie”. The blonde guy turns to him one last time before turning off the light. “You can always talk to me, okay?”</p><p>Archie nods because there isn’t much more left to say at this point. And so, Luke turns around and goes back to sleep while Archie is lost in his mind for a solid minute, nothing else to hear than the sad beating of his heart.</p><p>And then his phone rings again and he stares at the screen as soon as he pulls it out of his pocket. Maybe he expected another call from Betty and that’s why shock is spreading in his bones as he realizes that this time, she actually left him a message on his voicemail.</p><p>It’s probably a mistake to listen to this right now, but he can’t help it nor can he suppress the urge to find out if Betty is alright. The moment he hears her broken and tear-strained voice he regrets it immediately.</p><p>
  <em>“Archie, I’m at the Hotel room and I’ve seen that you packed your bags and you’re already gone. Can we… can we talk? Please? Can you please answer my calls, because I think I’m going crazy over here… Where are you? Are you… are you already back in Maryland? Please call me, okay? I just… We can’t end it like this, okay? I still… I still don’t know what happened and I still don’t understand… please just… call me, Arch.”</em>
</p><p>Her voice breaks several times during the message and he absolutely hates the fact that he made her sound this devastated. As soon as her voice stops and the message is over, he grabs the phone and throws it at the end of his bed, heavy breathing coming over his lips.</p><p>
  <em>Fuck. </em>
</p><p>If he would call her now, he damn well knows that he would give in to her words. He would take the next train, return to her and plead her for forgiveness. But he can’t risk that… he can’t risk talking to her for the next few days.</p><p>
  <em>I’m sorry Betty. But I can’t do this. </em>
</p><p>That’s the first time some actual tears appear in his eyes because – <em>hell, the choice is right there</em> <em>in his hands</em> - and it seems so tempting to end this sorrow right now. But that’s not the right way.</p><p>Without even realizing it he nearly rips the dark blue suit off his body, tries to get rid of everything that connects him to New York. The fabric is noble and fine, but it tears like cotton under his harsh hands as he rends the material and throws it to the floor, tears running over his cheeks.</p><p>That’s the first time he allows himself to actually feel the consequences of his actions.</p><p>He <em>feels</em> the pain of watching Betty’s beautiful, sad face in New York.</p><p>He <em>feels</em> the sorrow inside him while he told her he doesn’t want to be with her anymore.</p><p>He <em>feels</em> the shock and disappointment on her face as he turned around and left her behind.</p><p>And just like that he feels, feels, feels and he doesn’t know how to stop.</p><p>So, he cries quietly, while silent tears run over his shadowed face and he closes his eyes when he lays down on his bed, tries to shut down every moment, every feeling, every demon in his mind.</p><p>
  <em>But she is always there.</em>
</p><p>He can see her clearly and precisely every time he closes his eyes. Her blonde hair, her green eyes, her beautiful smile.</p><p>Betty Cooper stays in his mind that night and that’s the very first time he absolutely hates it.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>And just like that, time starts to move faster and slower at the same time for Archie Andrews.</p><p>It’s already noon when he wakes up the next time and he first thing he does is search for his phone at the end of the bed.</p><p>Another three missed calls from Betty.</p><p>He puts the phone away just as fast as he reached for it and tries to shut the feeling of betrayal and concern out of his mind.</p><p>Setting Betty free was a choice he made and there isn’t a going back from here.</p><p>So, he keeps his phone away from him by burring it in one of the shelves beside his bed, just like he is drowning his feelings and emotions in the same way.</p><p>He goes out with Luke that evening, is listening to music in a bar eats some of his favorite burgers at the restaurant around the corner… but everything feels strange. It’s like something is haunting him everywhere he goes, like every step and every move he makes is being watched by something that may be called regret or sadness.</p><p>It takes him two days to finally look at his phone again.</p><p>Another missed call from Betty.</p><p>One missed call from his mom.</p><p>He deletes the call from Betty and decides to speak to his mother in person.</p><p> </p><p>It’s Thursday afternoon when he reaches Brook’s house and as soon as his mother opens the front door, she already knows what happened by the look on his face.</p><p>“I’m sure you did the right thing, Archie”, is all she can say while she pulls him into a tight hug and he just stares into nothing, not even able to nod to her kind words.</p><p>“Give it time, Archie… time will heal everything”.</p><p>
  <em>Not this time, mom. I don’t think this will ever get better. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>The following week at the Academy is stressful and hectic – and Archie loves it.</p><p>Every exercise, every lecture and every training session is a welcomed distraction from the last weekend, and he drowns himself in work and sports, tries to keep his head clear and focused.</p><p>He avoids looking at his phone for several days, tries to concentrate on other things as much as he can.</p><p>“You’re alright?” Luke asks at one point on a Wednesday afternoon, while Archie is getting ready for his third run this day.</p><p>“Perfect”, is his partly honest, partly sarcastic answer. “I’m just trying to stay in shape”.</p><p>
  <em>Or maybe I’m trying to run away from everything. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>October ends and November blows a lot of snow down from the grey sky, transforming the already desolate landscape into a white scenery.</p><p>It’s been three weeks since Betty tried to call Archie the last time and he tells himself that he is glad that she seemingly gave up on reaching him over the phone.</p><p>But Archie is human and part of that means you’re feeling things you don’t want to feel.</p><p>And so, he feels the pain inside his chest while he wonders what she is doing right now.</p><p>He feels the regret when his mind wanders back to the night in New York.</p><p>He feels hurt when he sees her face every time, he closes his eyes.</p><p>“Will it get better?”, he asks Luke one night while both of them are sitting on their beds and his blonde roommate is smoking something that definitely isn’t legal in many parts of this country.</p><p>Archie doesn’t even need to explain what he exactly means because he knows Luke has to witness his pain just like he had to endure the time Luke broke up with Jessica.</p><p>The blonde guy only shrugs with his shoulders, his eyes on the cigarette in his hands. “Eventually”.</p><p>“Eventually…”. A silent laugh escapes Archie’s mouth. <em>Great. What a fantastic answer. </em></p><p>“It will get better with this”, adds Luke after a short moment, pointing at the cigarette in front him. “You want one?”</p><p>Maybe it’s the pain talking in him, maybe it’s the pure despair in his bones… but after 10 months of living with Luke in one room, Archie finally says yes.</p><p>“Just one”.</p><p>And after a few minutes things actually do get better… at least for a while.</p><p>Until he awakes at the next morning and everything turns back to the grey and bleakness reality Archie created.</p><p>That’s the moment Archie starts to wonder if his life has been this bleak before he met Betty at the age of five. Maybe she has been the only reason for all the colors around him, because now that she isn’t in his life anymore… the colors and warmth is gone as well.</p><p><em>But that’s the price I have to pay</em>; he thinks.</p><p>And he would pay it a million more times if he knew Betty would get a better future without him.</p><p>There is a part of him that is still waiting for the moment, it finally hits him for real.</p><p>A moment he realizes that it’s over for good… a moment he can start to let go.</p><p>Because somehow it feels like he is still waiting for her phone calls or text messages, he is still waiting for his next trip to New Haven or her next visit in Maryland.</p><p>These vacations will never happen, he knows that.</p><p>But none of this seems to get into his head completely… maybe because it feels too unreal to think about a future without his best friend in his life.</p><p>So, he keeps living his life at the Naval Academy, takes day after day, impatiently waiting for the time it won’t feel like Betty is still lingering in the back of his mind.</p><p>And then, finally, the day he has been waiting for arrives.</p><p>It’s the 24<sup>th</sup> December when he drives to Brook’s house, in his hands a cage he just bought from a bakery downtown.</p><p>His mom welcomes him warmly, just like she has always done, and he tries to ignore the memories of all the Christmas vacations he spent back home in Riverdale.</p><p><em>Last year, I drove all the way back to see her</em>; he remembers while they sit in Brook’s living room, talking about the freshly decorated Christmas tree. <em>Last year I was by her side… like every Christmas before. </em></p><p>The truth is Archie doesn’t even remember how Christmas feels without Betty.</p><p>It’s like she was always there.</p><p>Whether it was the morning of Christmas Eve, when they build snowmen’s in his front yard or the moment, she showed him her presents through their windows, her wide smile and green eyes shining through the icy glass in-between.</p><p>Now all of these moments only exist in his memory and he slowly starts to realize that there won’t ever be a Christmas day when he gets to see her beautiful smile again.</p><p> </p><p>It’s around midnight when he steps into Brooke’s guest room, his feet slowly making their way to the small window at the end of the tiny room.</p><p>He stands there for what feels like forever, his tired eyes staring out into the night, just like they are searching for something.</p><p>Maybe they are searching for snow… maybe for some stars behind these heavy clouds.</p><p>Or maybe they are searching for the face of pretty, blonde girl with wide, green eyes, who is starring back at him through her own window.</p><p>He hates himself for still thinking about her, but there isn’t much time for regret.</p><p>Because the second he tears his eyes away from the dark window, the phone in the pocket of his jeans begins to vibrate.</p><p>The moment he reads her name in the small display, his heart seems to freeze.</p><p>
  <em>Incoming Call – <strong>Betty Cooper</strong></em>
</p><p>It’s been two months since he last saw her face… two months of sorrow and hurt.</p><p>The image of Betty standing on this skyscraper in the middle of a city of lights enters his mind and his hands start to shake the longer he looks at his phone.</p><p>
  <em>When I take this call, I’ll go back to her, and the last few weeks would have been for nothing. </em>
</p><p>This realization circles through his head while nothing else but the sound of his phone echoes through the small room.</p><p>His finger floats over her name, ready to take the call, because god – nothing on this world would be a better Christmas present than hearing her voice in this exact moment.</p><p>But he can’t.</p><p>This is the last chance. He knows that.</p><p>And that’s why he simply looks at his phone and the second her name disappears, and the screen turns black, an unusual wave of relief floods through his whole body.</p><p>He could cry because of his actions.</p><p>He could scream because of his dumbness.</p><p>He could run away because of his sadness.</p><p>But all above he could finally start to let it all go.</p><p>Because this right here was his last chance. He knows that, because he knows Betty.</p><p>This was her last attempt to reach out for him, this was her last try to fix the things he destroyed. And it breaks his heart all over again, thinking about all the kindness and grace Betty Cooper embodies.</p><p>Archie had enough time to think about the consequences of the decisions he made in New York.</p><p>And the more time passed by, the more he realized that this was the only way to get a distance between him and Betty.</p><p>And now… he finally feels like somewhere down the line, somewhere at the end of the tunnel… he might finally be ready to get closure someday.</p><p><em>I’m sorry Betty</em>, he thinks while he puts his phone back into his pocket. <em>But this is for the best. You can hate me if you want… it’s better than loving me after all. </em></p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>Getting left on top of a skyscraper in the middle of an October night isn’t one of Betty Coopers greatest moments.</p><p>Staying there until her lips turn blue and getting found by Kevin Keller isn’t one as well.</p><p>“Betty, what the hell…”. These are the first words her friend says when he walks towards with the night wind in his hair while picks her up and leads her back inside the building. “How long were you up there?!”</p><p>There isn’t an answer coming over her frozen lips. Maybe because her whole body is shaking, maybe because she still can’t really progress what the hell just happened.</p><p>“He’s gone”. She isn’t even sure if Kevin can hear her whisper while she holds onto his arms as they walk down the stairs. “<em>He’s gone, Kev</em>”.</p><p>They reach the floor of the party room and suddenly her feet stop, her eyes fixed on the door across the hallway. “I can’t go back in there… I need to go, I- “</p><p>“Betty, wait. Tell me what happened”. Kevin is right there by her side the moment she turns to the elevators. “Where is Archie?”</p><p>“Gone”. The sound coming over her lips doesn’t sound like a real word, but he understands by the look on her face while she turns around to him. “He… I don’t know… he’s gone Kevin and I… I need to find him”.</p><p>Her fingers find the button for the elevator, her heart racing like crazy inside her chest.</p><p>“Wait a minute”, says Kevin before grabbing both of their jackets from the wardrobe behind them. She puts her coat on as soon as he is handing it over to her, but she doesn’t even feel the fabric though her dress.</p><p>“What do you mean with <em>gone</em>? Where did he go?” Kevin sounds as confused as Betty still feels while they both step into the now opening elevator.</p><p>It’s silent for a moment until the elevator closes and they make their way to the ground floor. “Betty… talk to me”.</p><p>“I think he… I think he just broke up with me”. Her own words sound foreign and weird, like she can’t even believe what she is saying.</p><p>“He… <em>what?!</em>”</p><p>The door opens and Betty hurries outside, stepping on the streets of New York a few seconds later, Kevin right by her side.</p><p>“I need to find him”, is all Betty says to his question. “I… I just need to talk to him, I mean… this can’t be it”. A desperate laugh comes over her lips while she starts walking into the direction of Brooklyn.</p><p>“Betty, wait”.</p><p>She turns around while Kevin calls for a cap. “You can’t walk all the way over the Brooklyn Bridge…”.</p><p>So, they climb into the next cap that passes their way and Betty just stares out of the window, her eyes only seeing the many colors of the streetlights around them.</p><p>
  <em>I want a carefree future… and that’s what I love more than you.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I don’t really see a place for me in your future.</em>
</p><p>Archie’s words linger in her mind the entire time but a part of her simply refuses to accept the fact that this is his last goodbye to her. All of it seems surreal, nearly like a dream… a nightmare that she can’t wake up off.</p><p>“We’re here”. It’s Kevin’s voice that rips her out of her thoughts and she hands the driver more than enough money before nearly jumping out of the car.</p><p>She wants to say many things to Kevin while they make their way up to her room.</p><p>
  <em>Thank you for coming with me. Thank you for being by my side.</em>
</p><p>But not one word comes over her lips while she finally stops in front the door 513, her shaking hands searching for the key in her pocket.</p><p>When she finally opens the door and turns on the light, it feels like her breath gets stuck in her lungs.</p><p>It’s not only the fact that Archie isn’t here… it’s the fact that all of his clothes are gone as well.</p><p>She steps forward, nearly falling into the room while she tries to realize that everything that happened within the last few minutes is actually true.</p><p>“He’s gone”. Her own voice sounds foreign to her while her knees seem to give up underneath her. “He’s gone… he is actually gone”.</p><p>And the last thing she sees is the concerned look on Kevin’s face before tears stream into her eyes. “Oh god, Kev… how did this happen, I…”. She can’t even find the right words anymore, a mixture of sorrow and alcohol flooding her body.</p><p>The next thing she feels are Kevin’s arms around her while her tear-streaked face is pressed against his soft coat and she doesn’t even know if she was reaching for his hands or he pulled her into a hug before she wasn’t able to stand on two feet anymore.</p><p>All she knows is that Archie left her here… and all she can do is deal with the heartbreaking feeling of loss.</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>It’s not even 7 am when Betty wakes up the next morning, dim light shining into the little room through the tiny window to her left while her head feels like it is about to explode any second.</p><p>It takes a few seconds until all details and memories of the last night return to her and the moment she realized that all of those bizarre scenes actually happened and weren’t just some bad dreams, her heart seems to jump out of her chest.</p><p>She turns her head to the right, finding Kevin sleeping on the other side of the bed, only remembering some blurry moments of the night before. There are dried tears on her cheeks, and she is still wearing her dress from the party while she thanks the universe that she has a friend like Kevin that refused to leave her side in the last few hours.</p><p>Her whole body hurts when she slowly climbs out of the bed and steps through the room on tiptoes, quietly searching for her phone in the pockets of her coat which is laying on the floor beside the small mirror on the wall.</p><p>And even though she tries to ignore it… there is a sharp pain in her heart when she finally finds the phone and realizes that there isn’t an unread message or a missed call from Archie.</p><p>
  <em>He really left… he really left without saying a proper goodbye. </em>
</p><p>Before she can really think about what exactly she is doing, she steps into the little bathroom and closes the door behind her, quietly wishing that Kevin won’t wake up.</p><p>Her fingers swipe over the screen of her phone and two seconds later the little thing is pressed against her ear.</p><p>
  <em>Common, Arch… take the call. </em>
</p><p>The quiet beeping-sound is hammering against her ear like a curse while her heartbeat seems to align to the sound of her phone trying to hold the line… and then she get’s send to the mailbox.</p><p>
  <em>Oh no, he didn’t. </em>
</p><p>She stares into the little mirror over the sink in front of her, almost scared of her own reflection. Her hair is still put up into a bun but there are streaks of hair that have fallen out of the hair tie, there is mascara all over her cheeks and her eyes shine red in the neon light from above.</p><p>
  <em>What an irony… I look exactly like I feel. </em>
</p><p>And without thinking about it, she calls him again.</p><p>And after that a third time.</p><p>After the fourth time the sadness that has spread in her whole body is finally reaching her eyes and before she can do anything about it, silent tears are running over her face, mixing with the black patches of makeup that are still lingering on her cheeks.</p><p>When she get’s send to the voicemail after her sixth call, she finally decides to leave him a message.</p><p>
  <em>“Archie, I’m at the Hotel room and I’ve seen that you packed your bags and you’re already gone. Can we… can we talk? Please? Can you please answer my calls, because I think I’m going crazy over here… Where are you? Are you… are you already back in Maryland? Please call me, okay? I just… We can’t end it like this, okay? I still… I still don’t know what happened and I still don’t understand… please just… call me, Arch.”</em>
</p><p>Her voice breaks a few times while she speaks and when she puts the phone back down the teary eyes turn into real sobs.</p><p>Maybe she is still in denial about what happened last night… maybe she doesn’t want to understand and realize that he is actually gone.</p><p>But as soon as she leaves the little bathroom again and spots Kevin standing in front of the window, obviously awake because of her shaky voice that echoed through the thin door just minutes before, a part of her begins to understand that this is actually happening.</p><p>“I had to call him”, she explains with a broken smile on her tear-streaked face while Kevin’s eyes find hers in the shadowed hotel room. “He didn’t answer… he doesn’t want to talk… but still… I had to call him…”.</p><p>Her words turn into a cry and Kevin is there the moment the little phone slips out of her hands. He catches it before it can hit the floor and lays it onto the wooden table beside them, before he pulls Betty into hug that is quite similar to the one, he gave her the night before.</p><p>“I just don’t understand…”, she explains against his chest, her voice dull and hollow. “I mean I know that things weren’t going great for us these last few months… but I wanted to fight for us… and he… he just gave up”.</p><p>This realization hits her like a train, the feeling of loss and worthlessness filling her up within seconds.</p><p>
  <em>I want a carefree future… and that’s what I love more than you.</em>
</p><p>His words cut through her mind like knifes and starts to wonder why she didn’t saw this coming.</p><p>“It’s my fault”. Kevin’s voice is quiet when he speaks and she pulls away from his arms softly, green eyes starring up to him in confusion. “I talked to Archie yesterday… right before he danced with you. I… I wanted to help, Betty… I said that he should talk with you about your current situation”.</p><p>There is a huge amount of guilt lying on Kevin Keller’s face in this moment. “I didn’t think that he would take my words and twist them around… I didn’t expect him to go and break up with you because of that”.</p><p>Kevin seems to be in real pain while he speaks. “Believe me Betty, I just wanted to help.”</p><p>A long moment goes by while no one says a thing.</p><p>“It’s not your fault, Kev”. When Betty speaks again, her voice is much clearer than before, and she lifts her arms to wipe away the tears from her cheeks. “Things were difficult for a long time… I guess a moment like this was long overdue, to be honest. I mean, I know that I was having a hard time with this long-distance relationship and I guess a part of me knew that Archie was fighting through it as well…”.</p><p>The realization of that still feels unreal. “But… I never thought that he would actually…”. The words get stuck in her throat and her eyes fall to the floor while she tries to calm herself.</p><p>“Nevertheless… I’m truly sorry Betty”. When Kevin speaks, she manages to look back up to him, a crocked smile in the curve of her lips.</p><p>“I’m sorry as well”. Pure sorrow is hidden in her voice while she stares at the side of the bed where Archie used to lay just a day before.</p><p>
  <em>I’m sorry for being so blind.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I’m sorry for letting you down. </em>
</p><p><em>I’m sorry for not being worth fighting for</em>.</p><p>Before she can say anything else, Kevin’s phone begins to ring and he turns away before answering the call. “Veronica! Hey… yeah, I know. I’m sorry that we left so sudden… I’ll explain later”.</p><p>When he turns back around to her she can already tell by the look on his face that she needs to explain a few things to the birthday girl. “Veronica wants to see us?”</p><p>“Yeah… but you don’t need to explain anything Betty, you don’t even need to go there…”.</p><p>“But I want to”, is all she can choke out. <em>I want to explain why I left without saying goodbye. And maybe I want to see her reaction to all of this… because maybe, just maybe, everything will feel a bit more real after that. </em></p><p>“Let me take a shower first… and then we can go”.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>Veronica Lodges reaction to Archie Andrews leaving not only her birthday party but also leaving one of her best friends Betty Cooper in the same night, is spectacular.</p><p>“He did <em>what?</em> Oh Archiekins, what a glamorous way to go”.</p><p>They meet the raven-haired girl in her apartment downtown in Manhattan and spent the whole day sitting at her Dinner table, drinking some kind of expensive tea Betty never even heard of before.</p><p>“I always knew Archie is selfless and wants to put other people first… but, wow, what a great way of showing that”.</p><p>Betty doesn’t say much the whole afternoon. Mostly because there aren’t words to describe her current situation very well… maybe because she can’t really tell how she feels inside.</p><p>Her mind returns to Archie every few seconds and she catches herself starring at the clock from time to time, just like she is waiting for something, like he will come back when enough time has passed by.</p><p>“I bet he’ll call you, B”, is Veronica’s way of cheering her up. “I guess it won’t even take another day until he reaches out for you. This isn’t the end of your story… trust me”.</p><p>Betty smiles because what else can she say to that?</p><p>
  <em>I don’t think you’re right this time, Veronica?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I don’t think he will change his mind?</em>
</p><p>So, she simply answers with a soft “maybe” and returns to the sadness inside her body, silently praying that Veronica’s words might come true for real.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>Betty returns to New Haven on Sunday evening.</p><p>Her goodbye with Kevin is heart-wrenching and sad while they hug each other one last time in front of her hotel.</p><p>“You’ll let me know when he calls you, alright?”, is the last thing he tells her before she gets in her car. “Wait, screw that. You’ll call me either way, okay? We’ll stay in touch, Betty. And you’ll visit me when you return to Riverdale during the holidays, alright? Promise me.”</p><p>She smiles at him, a grateful look on her tired face. “Yes, Kev. I promise”.</p><p>“Good”.</p><p>He waves when she drives away, and she watches how his silhouette gets smaller in the rearview mirror until he disappears out of her view completely.</p><p> </p><p>New Haven feels small compared to New York.</p><p>When Betty returns to her dorm room, Jane is bent over three different books at the same time, a pencil in her hand and her brown hair braided into two braids – a hairstyle Betty knows her boyfriend Oliver loves to see on her.</p><p>“Hey! How was New York?” Jane sounds happy to see her and Betty’s plan was to avoid speaking about anything regarding to her break-up with Archie… but as soon as she sits down at the table in the middle of the room and opens her mouth, she tells Jane <em>everything</em>.</p><p>By the time she talks about the moment on the rooftop, the brunette girl’s eyes widen in shock. “So, he left you on a skyscraper? <em>Alone?!</em>”</p><p>“And when I got back to the Hotel, he was already gone”.</p><p>Silence spreads around them while Jane is trying to find the right words to say. “Oh god, I’m so sorry Betty… I didn’t saw this coming”.</p><p>“Well, so didn’t I”, is all she can reply to that.</p><p>It’s been a whole day since Betty tried to call Archie this morning. She isn’t even sure if he heard her voicemail or even bothered to look at his phone at all… all she knows is that she wants to speak to him again, even if it’s just for one last time.</p><p>“I think… I’ll try to call him one more time”, she mumbles while grabbing her phone and without another word she leaves the room and steps into the empty hallway.</p><p>Fifteen long seconds pass by, beep after beep, heartbeat after heartbeat.</p><p><em>“Hey, here is Archie Andrews.</em> <em>I’m not available at the moment, but you can leave a message after…”.</em></p><p>She ends the call before she has to leave a message and sights frustrated while putting the phone back into her pockets.</p><p><em>Maybe he will call me back tomorrow;</em> she thinks. <em>Maybe he needs some time to think about everything. Maybe he will change his mind. </em></p><p>But he doesn’t.</p><p> </p><p>One week passes by without any sign of Archie in Betty’s life… and somehow it feels like she isn’t even breathing anymore.</p><p>She sits in her classes like a stranger, starring at the professors like they’re talking in a language she doesn’t even understand. She can’t sleep at night, and the few time she actually drifts off into sleep, she ends up dreaming about him. Ever night she is standing on a dark rooftop, Archie right in front of her eyes. But instead of talking to her, he is standing there with his back turned in her direction and it doesn’t even matter how much she screams and yells out his name, he doesn’t turn around. She wakes up crying every morning and thanks her lucky stars that she has Jane sitting at the side of her bed, waking her from her haunting nightmares.</p><p>After the first week of November, she decides to call him again.</p><p>“Don’t”, is Jane’s simple advice while she was already reaching for the phone on her bed. “Don’t call him Betty”.</p><p>“Why?”</p><p>“Because, if he wanted to talk to you… he would have called. He would have answered your voicemail.” Jane’s voice is soft but direct. “So… don’t be that girl that chases after a guy who doesn’t even bother to call you back… no matter how hard it is”.</p><p>And Betty has to admit that Jane’s words sound logical… even though it drives her insane.</p><p><em>You don’t know how hard that is;</em> she wants to scream. <em>I love him… I love him and he left me.</em></p><p>“Alright… I won’t call him”. Her voice is supposed to sound strong, but she knows by the look on Jane’s face that her sadness is shining through every syllable.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>And just like that November slowly turns into December.</p><p>The days get shorter and the nights seem to stretch over a million hours, ripping away the warmth and sunlight from the warm autumn days, leaving them with nothing than grey landscapes and icy temperatures.</p><p>It’s been five weeks since New York and Betty is trying her best to avoid thinking about the fact that Archie still hasn’t called her back. She is doing her best not to think about him and thanks to all the learning material and new topics in her classes, everything seems to get a bit hectic and stressful which turns out to be a perfect distraction from the aching heartbreak lingering inside her chest.</p><p>“Stop thinking about him all the time”. That seems to be Jane’s only sentence during these last few weeks and Betty starts to wonder how many times she will hear these words until she can finally follow through with them.</p><p>Six weeks after New York, Betty tries to remember all the things that once brought joy into her life… something that isn’t related to her childhood best friend.</p><p>And seven weeks after New York the first snowflake hits the frozen grass at the outdoor area of the University, when she sees Evan Campbell in front of the Sterling Memorial Library, packed in a black coat, his arms stacked with books.</p><p>She remembers her last conversation with him very well… partly because is has been right before her trip to New York… partly because she still remembers the words, he told her that day.</p><p>
  <em>He should have been a better boyfriend to you.</em>
</p><p>His words still aren’t justified, but Betty slowly starts to realize that Evan’s intentions might have been sincere from the start.</p><p>So, she stands there in the cold, watching how one of the million books in his arms slips over his hand and falls down to the paving stones, and that’s the very first time she can smile again.</p><p>She walks over and picks up the book without thinking to much about it because – hell, Betty needs a little light in her life on days like these.</p><p>“Here… I think you dropped this”. She hands him the book and watches the surprised look on his face for a few seconds.</p><p>“Thanks”. Snowflakes get stuck in his dark hair while he stares down to her, obviously waiting for her to say something else.</p><p>“I… can help you carry the books, if you want”.</p><p>A moment of absolutely silence passes by and Betty swears that for a short second, he can read the emotions that are written on her face.</p><p>“Okay… here”. He hands her one more book from the pile on his arms, murmuring a quiet “Thank you” while she takes them in her own arms.</p><p>Without another word he turns around and the little nod he gives her, tells her to follow him. They walk back into the library and she remembers the times he tried to teach her math in these rooms… a stressful yet necessary act.</p><p>“So… you’re talking to me again?” His sudden outburst of words catches her off guard and even though he is still walking in front of her, she can feel his eyes lying on her face.</p><p>“Yeah…”. She hates that she can’t find a better answer than that but when they finally reach an empty table and he turns around to put the books down, there is small but soft smile in the corner of his mouth.</p><p>“You have been silent for a few weeks now…”. And she knows that he doesn’t mean the time she didn’t speak to him in particular, he means the many days right after New York when she didn’t talk to anyone at all.</p><p>“Do you want to talk about it?” His question sounds honest and his brown eyes are lingering on her face the entire time.</p><p>“No”. There isn’t a better answer to that question, and she prays to god that he will understand it.</p><p>For a moment he just looks at her, unspoken words lingering between them while she tries to understand his point of view on this weird friendship between him and her.</p><p>And then, after what feels like a whole hour, he simply nods. “Okay, we don’t need to talk about it”.</p><p>With that, he sits down on one of the four chairs around them, pulling one of the many books to his side before looking back up to her. “Still need help at math?”</p><p>A strange and unfamiliar feeling flashes through her body while a sad smile breaks over her face, thankfulness written in her eyes. “Yes”.</p><p>“Alright… then sit down”.</p><p>Maybe talking to Evan again wasn’t a good idea… or maybe it was.</p><p>The truth is, Betty doesn’t even care anymore. Because all she wants is someone that actually answers her questions, and even though her and Evan weren’t on good terms the last few months, she is more than glad that talking to him feels like a small piece of normality is returning into her messy life.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>Returning to Riverdale on the 24<sup>th</sup> of December feels a bit like a homecoming.</p><p>The streets are filled with snow, the houses are decorated with bright lights and the living room of the Cooper-Jones house smells like freshly baked cookies when Betty steps through the front door.</p><p>A part of her is glad that Jughead isn’t in town this year.</p><p>“He found a girlfriend in Iowa… I think her name is Jessica. He seems pretty happy with her… at least that’s what he said when he canceled Christmas and told us he wants to spend the holidays with her at her parent’s house”. FP sounds happy when he talks about his son and Betty can’t help but smile about the news that Jughead finally found love again.</p><p><em>Good for him</em>; she thinks. <em>At least someone is happy. </em></p><p>They eat at the big table just like last year and she listens to the stories of FP, Jellybean and Charles, smiling from time to time, always trying to put on a brave mask.</p><p>Because sitting here isn’t as easy as it should be. Maybe because Archie used to be here a year before… maybe because this is the first Christmas without him by her side.</p><p>So, she hides the pain as long as possible.</p><p>But the moment she finally enters her old room around midnight, and she closes the door behind her, the pain seems to stretch out inside her body, and she has to blink a tear away.</p><p>Every time she returns to her old room, all the memories of the many days she spent here are crushing down on her again… and she can’t deny that Archie has been the biggest and most consistent part of her childhood.</p><p>She knows that the night in New York changed everything between them… and that she should let go. But moving on is so damn hard when you held on for so many years.</p><p>The truth is, Betty doesn’t want to let go of Archie.</p><p>Slowly she walks through her old room, her eyes wandering over the pink bedsheets and her old mirror beside the door. To her left is still her old desk and right above is still her bulletin board attached to the wall. She steps closer and takes a look at the photos, smiling at the old pictures she never had the heart to put down before she left Riverdale.</p><p>Pictures of her and Veronica, pictures of Kevin and Jughead. And all above pictures of Archie.</p><p>Many photos were taken over the last fifteen years, moments of primary school, scenes from High School. All of them are now gathered up on this small piece on the wall, smiling up to her through the shadowed room.</p><p>Betty’s eyes move up to her old bookshelf and her gaze falls on her diaries.</p><p>
  <em>Dear diary, today I fell in love with the boy next door. His name is Archie Andrews. </em>
</p><p>The pain that once cut sharp through her heart like a knife got a little softer over time, but it still hurts like hell when Betty reaches out and slides her fingers over the many book covers.</p><p>
  <em>Dear diary, today little Archie proposed to me. Of course, I want to marry Archie, but I know we’re too young. So, I told him he should ask me again when we’re both eighteen and in High School.</em>
</p><p>So many memories are still trapped inside these books and for a short moment, Betty considers writing a new one, filled with her stories from the last year. She would write about Christmas surprises; she would write about Archie in his Navy uniform. She would write about New Haven and Maryland; she would write about College parties and a wonderful time at a beach house in a small city called Huntingtown. And she would write about New York… and about the moment her life fell apart.</p><p>And suddenly her heart aches for the only person, it ever really belonged to.</p><p>She turns around and takes two steps, her wide eyes starring through the window to the house next door. There is no light, there is not even a single sign of life in the Andrew’s house.</p><p>“Mrs. Andrews told me she will spend the holidays at her girlfriends house down in Maryland”. Those were her mother’s words during dinner tonight and Betty knew that almost all eyes at the table were lying on her during this moment. Maybe because they all know how hard it must be to loose someone you love… or maybe because they all saw through her façade and know about her real feelings.</p><p>And now that she is standing here like she did hundreds of times before, her breath getting stuck in her throat, her eyes directed towards the empty window in front of her, she knows that she has to try it one last time.</p><p>Without thinking too much about it, her fingers find her phone inside her pockets and she calls him for the first time in over eight weeks.</p><p>Her heart seems to jump right out of her chest while she listens to the well-known beep sounds beside her ear, every second going by in slow motion.</p><p><em>“Hey, here is Archie Andrews.</em> <em>I’m not available at the moment, but you can leave a message after…”.</em></p><p>Hearing the same, old, monotone words from his voicemail feels like someone is putting the final nail in coffin for Betty. She puts the phone back into her pocket but keeps standing at the window a little while longer, her tired eyes fixed on the dark window next door.</p><p>Maybe she is waiting for someone to look back at her.</p><p>Maybe she wants to go back in time and wants to wave back to a five-year old Archie Andrews.</p><p>But these moments are only memories now.</p><p>And Betty knows that she has to let him go… because that is what he wants.</p><p>She turns around and walks back to the diaries one last time before reaching for her pocket once again. But this time it isn’t her phone that she is pulling out of it… instead she takes a little, golden, piece of jewelry in her hands.</p><p><em>This ring was supposed to be a promise</em>; she remembers.</p><p>She reaches out with her other hand and pulls a small piece of paper out between two of her old diaries, slowly unfolding the wrinkled letter.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em> <strong>Don’t freak out, this isn’t supposed to be a second proposal, so you can relax.</strong> </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> <strong>I’ll give you the ring as a reminder.</strong> </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> <strong>A reminder of our history.</strong> </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> <strong>A reminder of our past.</strong> </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> <strong>And maybe a reminder of me.</strong> </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> <strong>I know that thinking about the future right now kind of sucks.</strong> </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> <strong>But this ring symbolizes how far we have come… and that our way hopefully doesn’t stop here.</strong> </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> <strong>I know that we will try this long-distance thing and I’m happy about that.</strong> </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> <strong>But I’m not that naïve to think that this is going to be easy.</strong> </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> <strong>I know what separation feels like… and what it means.</strong> </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> <strong>I’m sure you will rock Yale. You’re literally the only person I know that can master anything.</strong> </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> <strong>And I know that your life and mine, will change… if we want them too, or not.</strong> </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> <strong>So please keep the ring as some kind of souvenir…</strong> </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> <strong>… and think about the happy days when the college life tries to get you down.</strong> </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> <strong>The ring is a symbol for the good times we had together.</strong> </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> <strong>And I don’t just mean the last few weeks. I mean our childhood… the adventures.</strong> </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> <strong>It’s supposed to remind you that no matter what will happen, you still have a happy place to return to.</strong> </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> <strong>The ring stands for your home, Betty. The ring stands for Riverdale.</strong> </em>
  </p>
  <p> </p>
</blockquote><p>There are tears in her eyes while she reads the letter… the same letter Archie left her here the day he moved to Maryland. She will never forget the day she found the ring and the piece of paper on her bedsheets… and she will never forget the feeling of hope these two things gave her.</p><p>A heartbreaking smile appears on Betty’s face as she folds the paper back together.</p><p>She takes one last look at the ring, twisting the little toy between her fingers, smiling at the red little crystal in the middle.</p><p><em>You were wrong Archie</em>; she thinks. <em>This ring doesn’t stand for Riverdale. This ring stands for the past. </em></p><p>And even though her heart breaks the moment she puts the paper back between the diaries, she also leaves the little ring right beside the books as well, laying him down on the dusty, wooden shelf.</p><p>The moonlight from the window reflects in the tiny, red crystal while she turns around and lays down in her old bed, letting go of the dreams and fantasies she thought about when she was nothing more than the <em>perfect</em> little girl next door.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I know things aren't looking so bright right now... but trust me when I say that this moment simply needed to happen for the story to move forward.<br/>And I'm really sorry that a lot of you were a bit sad after reading the latest chapter... I promise things will get better... in one way or another.<br/>Now we have one last chapter to go and then part 3 "The Stranger Is Forever You" will go online! :) </p><p>I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter or on the story itself!<br/>Thank you guys again for the comments on the last chapter - it gave a lot of motivation for writing more (and faster than usual). </p><p>I wish you a great day/night! :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. The Stranger Is Still You</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>We finally reached the last chapter of part 2 of this series so I just want to say a huge thank you to every single person that left a kudo or a comment here!!<br/>Enjoy the finale of part 2 - part 3 will go online next week :)</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>“In the end, there was no fixing the things we destroyed,</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>And that is why it’s the end,</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>and not just another chapter in the long and sordid story of us.”</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Jessica Katoff</strong>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>24<sup>th</sup> of December 2021 – <strong>9 weeks after New York</strong> </em>
</p><p>After rejecting Betty Cooper’s phone call in the middle of Christmas Eve, Archie Andrews suddenly feels at peace.</p><p>Not because he doesn’t love her anymore, not because he isn’t sad about shutting her down once again. He feels at peace, because somehow it seems like he did the final step towards a future where Betty can go on without him… and that thought is keeping him alive from this day on.</p><p><em>I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry it has to be this way.</em> His own, hurt voice echoes through his mind in this night while the picture of a beautiful, blonde girl flashes through his head like a shooting star.</p><p>
  <em>But this is it… stop thinking about me, Betty. Stop looking back. You’re not made for my world… and I’m not made for yours. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Cause she’s not made for this world… and neither am I. </em>
</p><p>When he returns to the Academy after the winter holidays, everything feels a lot lighter than usual. The last few weeks he spent here, were haunted by the hurtful breakup he endured in New York, haunted by regret and pain, hurt and grief… but the moment he spots Luke waving at him from the sports ground right beside the parking area, he finally feels like he can breath again.</p><p>“Hey Andrews! Want to join us? We’re playing football!”</p><p>A thin smile adorns Archie’s face when he throws his backpack to the frozen grass and even though the temperatures are still icy at this time of the year, he never wanted to something more than this.</p><p>“I’m in!”</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>14<sup>th</sup> of April 2022 – <strong>6 months after New York </strong></em>
</p><p>In the year 2022 Archie’s 21st birthday falls on the Easter holidays.</p><p>Archie spends the weekend in the Academy, even though Mary Andrews wants to persuade him to return to Riverdale for at least a couple of days.</p><p>“Common, Archie… Brooke and I would love to have you here.”</p><p>“I’m sorry mom, I can’t… I have a lot of school stuff to do and…”.</p><p>“… and maybe you don’t want to meet your old neighbor, right?” Of course, his mother knows what’s really going through his mind. “Well, you can calm down… Betty isn’t here. I met Alice yesterday and she told me her daughter will stay in New Haven during the holidays”.</p><p>A moment of silence passes by and for a second, Archie allows himself to picture Betty sitting in her dorm room in Yale – a image he banned out of his mind for the last half year.</p><p>“I don’t care about Betty”. That’s only partly a lie… maybe he doesn’t care about the fact that she won’t be there as well… but maybe he still cares enough to wonder why she isn’t going back to Riverdale this time.</p><p>“Whatever… promise me that we’ll spent Thanksgiving together, Archie”. The voice of Mary sounds more exhausted than angry and he closes his eyes before he answers.</p><p>“I promise”.</p><p>He spends his birthday in <em>The Middleton Tavern </em>with Luke buying him thousands of beers and shots and Sarah and Jerry performing some old-school version of <em>“Happy Birthday”</em> for him on stage.</p><p>They have a great time.</p><p>And still… it hurts when the clock strikes midnight and the 15<sup>th</sup> of April begins.</p><p><em>What did you expect</em>; he asks himself. <em>That she would call you to wish you a great day? After everything you did?</em></p><p>Archie knows that it’s a good sign that Betty hasn’t called today.</p><p>
  <em>She is moving on. She is happy. She shouldn’t be thinking about me anymore. This is what I wanted.</em>
</p><p>But even though his head understands the circumstances, his heart still hurts by the final confirmation that everything that once held him and Betty together, has now turned into dust.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>29<sup>th</sup> of June 2022 – <strong>8 months after New York</strong> </em>
</p><p>Archie and Luke spent most of the summer holidays at his beach house in Huntingtown. They watch football games on the enormous TV in the living room, they drink beer on the wooden veranda behind the house and they talk about everything that goes through their minds.</p><p>But one thing in particular, isn’t talked about at all. A topic that seems to haunt both of them like a ghost.</p><p>Because this right here was the place where both of them spent the last few happy days in relationships with their ex-girlfriends.</p><p>Luke doesn’t talk about Jessica and Archie tries to avoid thinking about Betty.</p><p>But even though it’s been over eight months since he had last seen her face, he can still picture her sitting beside him at the beach. He still remembers the sight of her body shimmering in the moon light while they walked through the pitch-black sea, he still remembers her laugh that got carried away with the soft breeze that was blowing over the beach.</p><p>On the morning of the 29<sup>th</sup> of June, Archie wakes up with the first sunray that rises over the horizon. He tried to ignore this day as best as he can… but he knows that it will take some time until the 29<sup>th</sup> of June won’t be a special day to him.</p><p>He tries to clear his mind while jogging along the waves, salt on his lips and the wind in his face. But at one point he just stops, simply giving up ignoring the guilty feeling in his chest. His feet are in the wet sand while he stares over the waves of the Atlantic, his eyes following some seagulls that are screaming at the sky above him.</p><p><em>It’s a beautiful day</em>; he thinks. <em>Of course, it is.</em></p><p>He remembers back to this day last year, when he couldn’t make time to visit Betty at Yale. And then he thinks about this day two years ago, when he left Riverdale for the Navy.</p><p>
  <em>All of that feels like a lifetime ago. </em>
</p><p>And even though everything feels distant now… he can’t ignore the heavy feeling on his chest while he watches the sun rise above the waves.</p><p><em>“Happy Birthday, Betty”,</em> he whispers against the wind, instantly hoping that somehow, his words will reach her even at the end of the world.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>23rd of October 2022 – <strong>One year after New York</strong> </em>
</p><p>Archie doesn’t know if Veronica is throwing a birthday party this year… and to be honest, a big part of him stopped caring over these past months.</p><p>Over time, the connections to his old friends from High School became less and less and around autumn 2022 the only guy he still hears of is his old friend Jughead Jones.</p><p>“I hope you’re doing great, man”, was Jug’s message to him that came out of the blue in the middle of August.</p><p>They texted a few times since then and Archie learned that Jughead is in a happy relationship with a girl from his College in Iowa, that seems to share every single one of his bizarre interests.</p><p>“I’m happy for you, Jug”.</p><p>The conversations with Jughead are a funny way to connect with the past, even though Archie reached a point where thinking about the past is something that doesn’t feel bad, nor feels good.</p><p>He simply stopped caring about it and realized that this was a good thing.</p><p>After two and a half years at the Naval Academy, it finally starts to feel like he is leaving his old life behind. The feeling of independence is shaping his new life in different directions and instead of thinking about returning to Riverdale, he starts making new plans for the future.</p><p>Archie finally starts to focus on the things he really wants in life and for the first time in forever, he begins to realize that without having Riverdale tied to his back, the whole wide world seems to be waiting for him.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>20th of December 2022 – <strong>One year and two months after New York</strong></em>
</p><p>At the end of December in the year 2022, Archie joins Sarah and Jerry’s band <em>Vortex</em>.</p><p>“We could use a second lead singer”, Sarah says while they are all sitting at the bar like they to almost every weekend now. “And you could also play your guitar.”</p><p>“You know what… I’d love to”, is his honest answer. Music has been a huge part of his life ever since he was a kid and for the first time Archie feels like he is keeping up with the learning material in the Academy, so doing something like this in his free time shouldn’t be a problem at all.</p><p>They play together for the very first time on Christmas Eve.</p><p>The <em>Middleton Tavern </em>has more guests that night than Archie expected until he realizes that most of these people are probably lonely and don’t have any company on Christmas.</p><p>They sing some old Christmas classics and mix some RnB songs in-between until it’s three in the morning and he can’t stop smiling on his way home, even though Luke by his side keeps laughing over the look on his face.</p><p>“For god’s sake, stop smiling like that, it looks creepy as hell… I’m not used to see you that happy”, is his best friends comment and he simply laughs as an answer.</p><p>And even though his mom hates that Archie isn’t home during the holidays – <em>Archie absolutely loves it. </em></p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>18th of May 2023 – <strong>One and a half years after New York</strong></em>
</p><p>On a Friday night after one of his performances with <em>Vortex</em> at the bar, Archie meets a girl named Laurie Williams.</p><p>“I like your voice”, is the first thing she says to him when he jumps off the stage and he just stares at her for a long moment, looking at her dark blonde hair and blue eyes. “It sounds sexy”.</p><p>He can clearly hear Sarah’s suppressed laughter behind him on stage, obviously amused over this girl’s comment, but he tries his best to shut her cheerful hilarity out.</p><p>“Thank you… I’m Archie”.</p><p>“I know”, is the girls reply, a wide smile on her face. “I’ve watched you perform a couple of times. I’m Laurie… do you want to go get a drink with me?”</p><p>A year ago, his answer would have been no.</p><p>But times have changed, and so has Archie. “Sure”.</p><p>Laurie is a girl that works at a restaurant a few streets away. She is the one that pays for their drinks and she is the one that talks the most the following hour.</p><p>She is also the one that wants to show him her apartment down the street once the <em>Middleton Tavern </em>closes in the early morning hours… and Archie is the one that follows her inside.</p><p>Laurie is direct and passionate and the moment she closes the door behind him and her lips crash against his own, he knows where this will end.</p><p> </p><p>When he returns to his dorm room the next morning Luke just grins at him and Archie rolls his eyes. “How was your night, Andrews?”</p><p>“Short”.</p><p>“Oh, I bet it was”. Luke laughs over his own words. “So, you will see her again?”</p><p>“I don’t know…”.</p><p>“Oh common. It’s the first girl you-“</p><p>“It’s not the first girl I slept with after Betty”, Archie clarifies. There have been two or three nights with women he either met in the Academy or at clubs downtown, but those were just flings… no things attached.</p><p>“I know it’s not the first time after her”, is Luke’s fast reply. “But it’s the first girl that genuinely seems interested in you. I saw you two yesterday… she seems nice, man”.</p><p>He turns around while Luke speaks, grabbing a towel out of his closet. “Yeah, she is great… but I’ll take it slow… we’ll see what happens”.</p><p>He leaves the room after that and steps under the shower while a part of him wonders why on earth he isn’t able to fall for a beautiful girl like Laurie.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>20th of November 2023 – <strong>Two years after New York</strong></em>
</p><p>Archie spends Thanksgiving at Brooke’s house and is more than glad, to his mother doesn’t comment on the relief on his face when she explained that they would be in Maryland during the holidays… and they weren’t returning to Riverdale this time.</p><p>“Why didn’t you bring your girlfriend?”, is the first thing Mary asks him, the moment he steps through Brooke’s front door.</p><p>“Mom, Laurie isn’t my girlfriend”.</p><p>“Hm… if you say so”.</p><p>It’s been quite difficult to explain his relationship with Laurie to the other people in Archie’s life. He could say the truth… but who wants to hear that he is sleeping with the same girl for half a year now, but refuses to call her his girlfriend?</p><p>The problem is that he doesn’t know what the problem is.</p><p>Laurie is pretty, Laurie is smart. She is a little funny and charming and loving and… all above, she is a girl that many men would kill for.</p><p>So, what’s the problem?</p><p>Maybe the problem is that Archie doesn’t really feel anything for the beautiful, dark blonde woman. It’s not like he didn’t try… because he did. He tried it every time when she watched him perform in the bar, he tried it every time she smiled at him during dinner, he tried it every time her naked body was tangled around his own and all he could hear was her soft voice that murmured pretty words into his ears.</p><p>“You don’t love me, do you?” Laurie asks him one evening. She is laying right beside him, her body curled up in her satin bed-sheets, her blue eyes fixed on the side of his face but all he can do is stare up to the red ceiling of her room, trying to find the right words to say.</p><p>A long moment passes by until he answers. <em>“… No.”</em></p><p>He expects to get kicked out of the apartment any minute and he damn well knows that he deserves it, even though saying the truth is always the right way.</p><p>“It’s okay… I don’t love you either”. Her casual words surprise him, and he turns his face down to her, his brows furrowed, his mouth a little open.</p><p>She only shrugs with her shoulders, a little smile on her lips. “I’m not really looking for love… I just want to have fun… I want you. And if love isn’t on the table for us, then I’m taking what I can get”.</p><p>She pushes herself up on her elbows, her light-blue eyes lingering on his face. “I loved someone a few years ago… and it didn’t work out. I’m not really keen on having my heart broken again, you know?”</p><p>Before he can think about her words, her curved lips are already back on his own and he gives into her touch because of the simple desire to have someone close to him.</p><p>That’s the first time he slowly realized what his problem is.</p><p>Just like Laurie, he got his heart broken. And maybe he is still walking around with missing pieces, unable to fix the mess he created. Unlike Laurie, he was the one that caused the heartbreak… he decided to live in pain a long time ago.</p><p>And that’s the problem. It’s been two years since New York, and he still isn’t able to fully move on.</p><p>Because how is a heart supposed to feel love, when it’s not even fully healed?</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>14th of April 2024 – <strong>Two and a half years after New York</strong></em>
</p><p>On Archie’s 22nd Birthday, <em>Vortex</em> is recording their very first single in a real tone-studio.</p><p>It’s a mixture of RnB and Pop music with lyrics from Sarah and the melody ideas from Archie and Jerry.</p><p>They have to pay for the studio on their own but after a whole weekend in the little room with stuffy air, hearing the end result was totally worth it.</p><p>They spent the following weeks with giving away small disks with their single on it, handing them over to radio stations or record agencies… but nothing happens. Archie knows by the look on their faces, that most people they are handing over their disks, will throw that thing away the second they walk past the next trash can.</p><p>“I hope someone will actually listen to the song”. Sarah sounds tired beside him while they are sitting outside at one of the benches in the training area.</p><p>It’s one of these exhausting training afternoons when the sun is getting too hot and your body gets too warm underneath your uniform. “They are idiots if they won’t listen to it”, Archie replies. “Your lyrics is great, Sarah”.</p><p>She mumbles a quiet “Thanks” with her eyes wandering over the wide training area.</p><p>Her long ponytail flies over her shoulders when she turns her head in his direction. “You know… you should write some songs as well. I know your guitar skills are amazing… but I think you should try to write lyrics as well”.</p><p>“Me?” A short laugh escapes his lips. “Oh god… I think the last time I wrote a song, I was still in High School”.</p><p>“See? I think it’s time you write again”. Her words sound so simple and that’s one of the many things Archie adores about the cheeky girl beside him. Sarah is a good friend with a charming personality and even though he tries not to show it, he is more than glad to have her in his life.</p><p>Before he can answer, the phone in his pocket vibrates and he takes a look at the small display.</p><p>“That’s Laurie… I got to go… see you tomorrow at rehearsal?”</p><p>The brunette girl smiles while he stands up. “Sure… now go and get some inspiration from your girlfriend, so you can finally write some songs again!”</p><p>“She isn’t my girlfriend!”</p><p>“I know, I know…”. She throws her hands up in the air in a symbolic way, a smile crossing her face. “… but at least, she can be your inspiration, right?”</p><p>“Maybe”. He laughs when he walks away, shaking his head in amusement.</p><p>Archie knows that he won’t write new songs. Not now… not ever.</p><p>He lost his inspiration a long time ago.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>31st of October 2024 – <strong>Three years after New York</strong></em>
</p><p>The night <em>Vortex</em> is playing the Halloween gig at the <em>Middleton Tavern, </em>something amazing happens.</p><p>It’s around midnight when a man comes up to the stage and hands Sarah a small piece of paper.</p><p>“I’m Joe Harris. I heard your song that you handed out to our studio a few months ago and I watched you perform tonight. If you’re interested, I would like to work with your band…”.</p><p>Archie can’t hear all the words the man with the white-beard says to Sarah, but as soon as the guy leaves the stage again, the brunette girl who is dressed in a witch-costume turns around and jumps into his arms. The yelling coming out of her mouth is so loud, that he winces before she is letting go again, her voice still so loud that even Jerry can hear them across the stage. “HE WANTS TO RECORD SOME SONGS WITH US!!!”</p><p>The jubilation is great after that.</p><p>The small group consisting of Sarah, Jerry, Luke and Archie stays at the bar until the sun goes up the next morning, they talk and laugh and sing the whole night and even though they wake up with the worst headache several hours later, all of it was worth it.</p><p>
  <em>We’re going to record some songs. </em>
</p><p>And then – without any warning – the image of a beautiful, blonde girl with green eyes flashes through his mind.</p><p>It got easier over time, not to think about the girl next door.</p><p>But sometimes, in moments like these, a picture of her seems to shoot through his mind like an arrow and it doesn’t matter how much he tries to shut her out of his head… Betty Cooper seems to appear in those few little moments, he once would have wanted to tell her everything that is happening in his life.</p><p>Three years ago, she would have been the first person he would have called.</p><p>Today, he doesn’t even know what he should say to her.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>18<sup>th</sup> of December 2024 – <strong>Three years and two months after New York</strong></em>
</p><p>The songs they record with Joe Harris are great but nothing really special. It’s a mixture of RnB and Pop, just like the covers they’re performing at the bar from time to time and they earn a minimum of money for the two-week work.</p><p>Around Christmas, Joe Harris gets Vortex a gig in a fancy bar in Washington. They get dressed in some fancy clothes and perform their new songs until midnight, but the feedback of the people turns out poorly.</p><p>That’s the night Jerry, Sarah and Archie decide to return to their roots at Annapolis.</p><p>“I want to play at the Middleton Tavern”, Sarah says on their drive home in the middle of the night while Jerry answers with some approving “Mhm” sound from the backseat.</p><p>Archie nods while he stares out into the dark, watching how raindrop after raindrop is making their way down the glass beside him. “Me too”.</p><p>So, they call Joe and tell him that they want to stay the way they were, and everything turns back to normal.</p><p>They play cover songs every Friday at the bar, smile at the familiar and small crowd while Luke Perez is clapping at them from his seat at the back of the room.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>1st of January 2025 – <strong>Three years and three months after New York</strong></em>
</p><p>At the first of January, Archie receives a letter.</p><p>It’s early in the morning when he grabs the little piece of paper out of the mailbox in the hallway and returns to his dorm room starring at the beige and rose-colored cover for a solid minute, until he has the heart to open it.</p><p>“What is it?”, is Luke’s question while the blonde guy tries to find his training clothes in his messy closet.</p><p>“I have no idea…”.</p><p>The moment he tears the envelope open and he can read the first few words, his breath gets stuck in his lungs.</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Veronica is getting married… in Riverdale… and I’m invited. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>And most importantly… she is marring Reggie?! </em>
</p><p>“How the hell did that happen?” He would laugh if he wouldn’t be so shocked while Luke appears right beside him, ripping the invitation out of his hands.</p><p>“Veronica Cecilia Lodge… pretty name. Isn’t she your ex from High School?”</p><p>“Yeah…”.</p><p>Luke laughs while he hands him back the paper. “And you’re invited… <em>why exactly?</em>”</p><p>“I have no idea”. He sits down on his bed, his eyes still lingering on the letter in his hands. Hundreds of different thoughts fly through his mind in this moment, memories of Riverdale High appearing right in front of his eyes.</p><p>Archie’s eyes wander over the whole letter one more time until he reads the words <em>Riverdale</em> again.</p><p>He would have to return to Riverdale… he would have to go home.</p><p>Maybe that’s the reason why he is invited in the first place. When Reggie and Veronica want to marry in Riverdale, they’re probably going for a big wedding with many people as possible. It seems logical to invite old friends from High School and to be fair, Veronica has always been a kind and social person.</p><p>Many questions fly through Archie’s head in this moment while he wonders how on earth Reggie and Veronica found their way back to each other and why they decided to marry in a small town like Riverdale, when they could have chosen a place like New York instead.</p><p><em>Their college time is over since last summer;</em> he remembers. He is the only one that has to endure five years of training until he will take his final exams and tests in three months.</p><p><em>Four and a half years have passed by since they all left Riverdale behind; </em>he realizes.</p><p>
  <em>And their college time is over since last year. Maybe Veronica moved back to Riverdale. Maybe she did it for Reggie. </em>
</p><p>“So… will you accept the invitation… will you go?”</p><p>Luke’s question pulls him back to reality and he stares up to his best friend, trying to find a logical reason to say no.</p><p>“Yes…”. His eyes fall back down to the letter again while the thought of attending a wedding filled with people from his past is scarring the hell out of him. “… maybe”.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>14<sup>th</sup> April of 2025 – <strong>Three and a half years after New York</strong></em>
</p><p>On his 23<sup>rd</sup> birthday, Archie Andrews is sitting at the kitchen table in Brooke’s house in Maryland when his mother drops the following news on him like a bomb.</p><p>“I’m going to sell the house, Archie”.</p><p>He was eating cake during their simple conversation about the final exams at the Academy, but as soon as his mother tells him about the house, he stares at her for what feels like forever, his eyes widened in shock.</p><p>“You’re… <em>what?</em>”</p><p>“It’s time”, is her calm reply, even though he can clearly see the pain in her brown eyes. “Brooke and I have been switching between her apartment here and our house in Riverdale for far too long now… and we decided that we want to stay here in Maryland. We both have our jobs here”.</p><p>Pictures of the old Andrews-house are appearing in Archie’s head while he tries his very best to stay calm. “But mom…”. And the second he tries to find an argument against her plans, he realizes that she is right.</p><p>What is he supposed to say?</p><p>
  <em>Don’t sell the house because I don’t want to lose the place where I spent my childhood?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Don’t sell the house because maybe I want to go back there someday? </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Don’t sell the house because it’s the place that keeps all the old memories of dad?</em>
</p><p>But all of these arguments are selfish.</p><p>“You haven’t been in Riverdale for the past four years, Archie…”. The voice of Mary is calm while she speaks to him and that’s the first time he realizes how much time has passed by.</p><p>He nods to give some sort of an answer. “I know”, is all he can bring over his lips.</p><p>“I’m gonna sell it after the summer”, Mary explains. “So, you don’t have to stay in a hotel during Veronica’s wedding weekend”.</p><p>
  <em>Right… the wedding.</em>
</p><p>Three weeks after the day he received the invitation and after three weeks of constant doubts and wondering if he even wants to see all of his old classmates again, he finally called Veronica and told her he will come to the wedding.</p><p>“Will you be my plus-one, Laurie?”, was the question he asked the dark-blonde girl a night before he called Veronica, and after the short complain “Hmm… Riverdale is a town… I bet it smells like a farm there…” she said yes.</p><p><em>This summer will bring closure for a lot of things</em>; Archie realizes. <em>I’ll end my training program at the Navy, I’ll start my mandatory service… and I’ll lose the only thing that connects me to Riverdale. </em></p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>30<sup>th</sup> of April 2025 – <strong>Almost four years after New York</strong></em>
</p><p>On the 30<sup>th</sup> of April Luke, Sarah and Archie pass the final examinations of the Naval Academy.</p><p>They throw a party at the <em>Middleton Tavern</em> with all their castmates and laugh and drink until the sun rises again the next morning.</p><p>“I can’t believe we did it”, Luke says while they all leave the pup in the morning hours, the first few sun rays shining against their skin.</p><p>“I can’t believe <em>you</em> did it”, Sarah replies mockingly.</p><p>“Oh, shut up Sarah”.</p><p>Archie just smiles while he watches his two best friends playfully fight on the streets. Sarah’s brown curls fly through the air while she jumps to the side, Luke obviously offended that she escaped his attempted hug.</p><p>“You know, you two would make a great couple”, Archie admits and immediately gets punished with annoyed looks and exasperated replies.</p><p>“Yeah right… like Sarah would deserve someone as cool as me”.</p><p>“Oh, and as if Luke would be gentleman enough, to actually stay with a girl longer than one night”.</p><p>A new fight starts and Archie watches how Luke rolls his eyes while Sarah sticks her tongue out at him.</p><p>“I can’t believe we have four months off… I love the fact that the mandatory service starts at the end of august”, Archie says while they walk over the parking lot of the Academy.</p><p>“Four months free… enough time to relax at the beach house”, Luke adds. “You want to join me again, Andrews?”</p><p>A few seconds pass by while Archie thinks about his answer. “Actually, I can’t…”.</p><p>They step though the front door of the dormitory when he explains: “I’ll go back to Riverdale for a couple of weeks. My mom is selling our old house and I have to get all the stuff out.”</p><p>“You haven’t been to Riverdale in four years”, Sarah notes beside him. “Are you sure you want to stay there several days?”</p><p>
  <em>God Sarah, I don’t know. </em>
</p><p>“Yeah… this will be great”, he replies in a casual way, hoping his friends won’t notice the hesitation in his answer. “I can say goodbye to the house… I get to say goodbye to Riverdale. That’s a good thing”.</p><p>They walk though the empty hallways when Luke simply adds. “Whatever you say, Andrews”.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>•••</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>3rd of May 2025 – <strong>Almost four years after New York</strong></em>
</p><p>On Friday May 3<sup>rd</sup>, Archie, Luke and Sarah move out of the Naval Academy.</p><p>“Feels weird to leave this place”, Sarah admit while she squeezes way too many bags in her tiny, red car. “And it feels weird that I don’t know when I will see you guys again”.</p><p>“We’re in a band, Sarah. We’ll stay in touch and try to find new places to perform”, Archie replies while he searches for his own car keys inside his pocket.</p><p>“I know. At least we can still perform at the Middleton Tavern… Jerry lives down the street, we can always crash at his place when we come back to Annapolis”. Sarah fights a smile on her face while she turns around to the two guys one last time. “I’ll let you guys know when I get my final deployment plan for the mandatory service. I pray to god that we’ll get scheduled somewhere together.”</p><p>“Me too”, Luke suddenly replies and Archie watches how the blonde guy takes a step forward and pulls Sarah into a hug. “Maybe we’ll all get a job at Greece or Cuba. Then we can hang around at the beach all day”.</p><p>“Yeah, I don’t think it works that way”, Sarah laughs when they let go of each other.</p><p>Archie is the next one that hugs her. “If there is a chance, we’ll try to stay together after this summer.”</p><p>The brunette girl just nods when they all pull apart again and she gets inside her tiny car. “Alright, boys. I guess I’ll see you the next time we perform together… and Luke, I expect you to be there as our number one fan, alright?”</p><p>“Yes, Madam”, the blonde guy mumbles as they watch how she turns on the engine and drives away with a sad smile on her face.</p><p>“You sure you don’t want to join me on my trip to Huntingtown?”, Luke says after a few seconds while they both turn to their own cars.</p><p>“Thanks Luke… but I really need to go back to Riverdale.”</p><p>“Alright… was worth a try”.</p><p>Saying goodbye to his friends is way harder than Archie thought it would be and the moment he hugs Luke one last time, he promises that they’ll stay in touch no matter what.</p><p>“Text me when you need a holiday at the beach”, the tall guy says while Archie gets inside his car. “Or when you need a wingman at a club!”</p><p>“I will”. A silent laugh escapes Archies mouth as he watches Luke walk away and disappear behind the many cars in the parking area.</p><p>Five years ago, he was convinced that returning to Riverdale would be the best thing in this world.</p><p>Today he is on his way home and it feels like some sort of dream sequence.</p><p>The next five hours he tries his very best to feel something while he drives the long way home.</p><p>Maybe he should feel happy… maybe he should feel exited.</p><p>But the truth is, Archie Andrews doesn’t feel a single thing while he is sitting inside his car.</p><p>Some quiet RnB music is playing over the small radio when he drives past New York City and that’s the first time, he actually allows himself to think about the past few year that led up to this moment.</p><p>Pictures of endless car rides, memories of sadness are crossing his mind. And all above the night in New York circles around inside his head, a single day that he never really thought about in the last four year.</p><p><em>What a cursed night;</em> he thinks while he stares at one of the street signs to his right, the bold description <em>New York City</em> almost screaming at his face.</p><p>It’s been almost four years since he last saw his friends.</p><p>And it’s been almost four years since he last saw Betty Cooper.</p><p>He can’t help but wonder what they are all doing today.</p><p>
  <em>Is Veronica living in Riverdale?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>How did Reggie manage to convince a girl like Veronica to marry him?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Is POPs still the way it used to be? </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Are Toni and Cheryl still a couple?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Is Kevin still in a happy relationship with Fangs? </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Are the serpents still together? </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Did Mrs. Cooper and FP finally get married?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Is Betty happy and living the life he wanted her to have?</em>
</p><p>Archie knows that he won’t get answers to all these questions. He lost the right to hear them a long time ago.</p><p>So, he turns the music louder than before and shuts the demons from his past out of his head with a soft hum on his lips.</p><p>
  <em>Riverdale belongs to the past and the past doesn’t belong to the future. </em>
</p><p>He won’t stay longer than he needs to and as soon as the house is empty, he will leave this haunted town behind for good.</p><p> </p><p>Around 3pm and after five hours of sitting in his car, Archie Andrews finally reaches Riverdale.</p><p>
  <strong> <em>Welcome to Riverdale – The Town with PEP</em> </strong>
</p><p>He can’t help but smile at the sight of the old city sign while he drives through the main road, admiring the many bushes and flowers that look so much greener than the ones in Maryland. The sun is hitting against his face through the car window while he turns in his old well-known street.</p><p>A strange feeling is rising in his chest while the Andrew’s house is appearing in his sight.</p><p>The moment he parks the car in the still familiar spot right in front of the house on the streets and he gets out and stands on the sidewalk, it takes him several minutes to take everything in.</p><p>Everything looks exactly the way it used to be.</p><p>The front yard is a bit overgrown and neglected, but the house still looks the same in the shadows of the afternoon sun. Everything looks green and smells fresh and he can’t help but smile at the strange but familiar feeling inside his whole body, while he steps towards the front door.</p><p>“Archie Andrews?”</p><p>The sound of a woman’s voice hits his ear and he turns to his right before he can reach the steps to his front porch.</p><p>Alice Cooper is standing in her front yard, her blonde hair a bit shorter than it once used to be, in her hands some groceries that she apparently just carried out of her car.</p><p>“Hello Mrs. Cooper”.</p><p>“Mrs. Jones”, she corrects him with a small smile but also a good amount of shock on her face.</p><p><em>Oh, so Alice Cooper and FP Jones finally got married?</em> “Congratulations, I didn’t know…”.</p><p>“It was a small wedding, just the family…”, she answers while her eyes wander over his whole appearance. “It’s been a while… you look different”. <em>Whatever that “different” is supposed to mean. </em></p><p>“Yeah… it’s been four years”, he adds with an awkward shrug of his shoulders. What the hell is he supposed to say?</p><p>He turns the key’s in his hand around, trying to find the right words to keep this comical conversation going, even though he truly doesn’t even know this person anymore.</p><p>Alice has always been a woman that wasn’t quite happy that he was once a close friend to her daughter. And even though he knows that changed a bit once he and Betty became a real couple, things are different now and the days he happily spent in the Cooper’s house now feel like a lifetime ago.</p><p>“Betty is in town, too”, Alice suddenly blurts out.</p><p>That’s the moment he really looks at Alice Jone’s face and he tries his best to read the emotions in her eyes, just like she is waiting for a reaction from his side.</p><p>But before he can answer something to that random statement, Alice adds: “She and her boyfriend have been here for a while now… maybe you’ll see them at POPs or somewhere else”.</p><p>He stands there for what feels like forever, simply trying to show a decent kind of reaction to these words. The fact that Betty has a boyfriend now isn’t as shocking as his realization that he actually seems to care a tiny bit about that.</p><p>Of course, Betty has a boyfriend. That was Archie’s wish all along, right? That she would move on and live a better life without him. That she would meet new people and fall for someone that not only understands her lifestyle but is also able to live it with her.</p><p>Maybe it takes Archie a bit too long to answer and when he finally speaks, his voice sounds a bit hoarse. “Yeah I… I guess I’ll see them around”.</p><p>Alice shows him a smile and he answers with his own, even though he prays to god that his words won’t come true.</p><p>
  <em>Because wishing Betty all the best in this world doesn’t necessarily mean that he wants to witness it as well. </em>
</p><p>“You’re here to get the house empty, right?”, Alice says and even though he is still stuck in his thoughts, he is glad that she is changing the subject. “Mary told me that she will sell it, the last time she was here… I’ll be honest, I will miss it to have you as our neighbors. Because you’ll never know what kind of people will follow”.</p><p>He nods politely while trying to shut down this stiff conversation. “Right, that’s why I’m here… and I better start now, or I won’t be finished in time”.</p><p>“Do that”, is her reply and he turns around as soon as she walks into her house as well.</p><p>The second he opens the door and steps into the small hallway, he takes a moment to progress the new information he just received.</p><p>Archie Andrews spent years trying to forget the past… or at least he tried to make peace with it. And maybe avoiding to think about everything related to his time in Riverdale, was a mistake because right now every new information seems to knock him down like a avalanche.</p><p>He looks around the hallway for a solid minute, starring at all the old furniture and the memories they imbody and he once loved with all his heart… and suddenly he realizes that coming back here maybe wasn’t a good idea after all.</p><p>Because it kind of sucks to get reminded about parts of your life you once loved but now have turned into hurtful memories.</p><p><em>I won’t stay long</em>; he decides. <em>One weekend and I’m done with this town. </em></p><p>So, he reaches for the cartons that his mom already left here the last time she visited the house and he starts grabbing random stuff from the shelves in the kitchen, almost throwing old pans and dishes into the huge boxes.</p><p>He hates being back here.</p><p>He hates how every single detail in this house reminds him of his dad… and that these memories still have the power to make him sad.</p><p>He hates that even after all these years, he still cares about this house.</p><p>He hates that everything changed.</p><p>He hates that a well-known neighbor like Alice Cooper… Alice <em>Jones</em>, has turned into a stranger.</p><p>He hates that he got reminded of Betty Cooper.</p><p>And he absolutely hates himself for being sad about the fact, that he still cares enough to get mad about it.</p><p> </p><p>Hours pass by until he realizes that it’s already dark outside. He groans as he kicks one of the cartons beside him away and opens the fridge.</p><p>“Nothing… absolutely nothing”, he mumbles while he closes the empty refrigerator with a bit too much strength.</p><p>He grabs his keys from the sideboard in the hallway and is about to leave the house when his eyes get stuck on the stairs to his left. It’s been four years since he last saw his old bedroom. And it this weak moment, he finally gives in.</p><p>So, he turns around and walks up the stairs, feeling like a ghost that isn’t supposed to be here.</p><p>Twenty steps later, he is finally standing in his old room, not even bothering to turn on the light. Maybe because he doesn’t want to get reminded of all the good memories, he made within these four walls… maybe because a part of him got used to darkness over time.</p><p>His tired eyes stare at his old bed and a small smile appears in the corner of his mouth while he recognizes that there are still the same, old, blue bedsheets laying on the mattress.</p><p>He takes a step forward but before he can even touch anything, his phone begins to buzz. A short moment after that, he holds the display to his ear. “Hello?”</p><p>“Hey, it’s me”. <em>Laurie. Of course.</em> “I didn’t have a chance to say goodbye this morning. How is Riverdale? Is everything still the same?” Her voice is soft and casual and even though nothing really changed between them in the last year and they are still nothing more than two people that share a bed once in a while, he is glad that she is looking out for him.</p><p>“Sorry about that”, he answers honestly. “And yes, Riverdale is exactly the same”.</p><p>“And did you meet old friends?”</p><p> </p><p>He is about to answer when suddenly, out of the blue, a dim light enters his room like a small light cone created from a distant torch.</p><p>A short moment goes by until he lifts his gaze and realizes that the light is coming from the window of the house next door.</p><p>He seems to be frozen in place while he stares through the glass a few feet away from him when suddenly, a blonde girl appears behind the window in the Jone’s house.</p><p>It doesn’t even take a second until he knows it’s her.</p><p>Betty Cooper is walking through her old childhood room in light steps, dressed in a red blouse and some dark trousers, her blonde hair falling over her shoulders in big waves.</p><p>Archie seems to be in a state of shock while he simply can’t tear his eyes away from the sight of what might as well be a daydream. </p><p>Betty looks older, but not in a bad way. Her hair is longer than it used to be, the way she moves from one side of the room to the other feels more gracious than all the other times he got a glimpse of her through their windows during High School and all in one she seems like a new version of a girl he once used to know very well.</p><p>“Archie? And? Did you meet old friends?”</p><p>Laurie’s repeated question pulls him back from his thoughts. “What? Oh, yeah, I… I did meet some old familiar faces”.</p><p>His eyes are still on the girl next door while he speaks, and he watches how the blonde woman on the other side of the glass seems to look around her old room, her green eyes wandering over the pink walls around her.</p><p>And then, suddenly, she pulls her phone out of her pocket and stares at the screen for a short moment before a smile breaks over her face, lighting up the whole room a bit more.</p><p>“Do you think you will stay for long?”, Laurie’s voice echoes against his ear but a part of him doesn’t even hear her anymore.</p><p>His eyes are fixed on Betty like they did so many times several years ago while all the anger and the rage he felt inside him throughout this day is slowly fading away.</p><p>
  <em>Four years later and he still can’t tear his eyes away from the girl next door.</em>
</p><p>He watches the bright smile on her face, wondering what is making her this happy and it’s the first time in what feels like forever, that he wants to know what is happening in her world right now.</p><p>All it takes is one single smile of Betty Cooper and Archie Andrews is totally paralyzed.</p><p>He wants to turn on the lights in his own room to show her that he is right here.</p><p>He wants to wave at her, step directly to the glass so she is able to see him.</p><p>He wants to tell her that he is happy for her… and that he’s still sorry about that one night in New York.</p><p>But Archie can’t do any of these things.</p><p>Because after all, there are not only two panes of glass between them, there are also hundreds of unspoken words, rejected calls and a turbulent past keeping them apart.</p><p>And it should stay this way. He knows that.</p><p>But until now, he never realizes how much he had missed it to see Betty right before him. All these past years without her in his life are falling on his shoulders in this exact moment and memories of good, memories of bad, memories of New Haven and Maryland, memories of Riverdale and memories of a rooftop in New York are returning to him all at once.</p><p>Every single moment with Betty Cooper belongs to the past now.</p><p>And Archie Andrews should be glad that she is happy today.</p><p>But he can’t bring himself to look away from her face for one second while he wonders if it would be that bad to speak to her again after all these years of separation.</p><p>Before the last four years, Betty has always been a huge part of his life and while he looks at her wide smile through the windows, he decides that he can’t leave Riverdale after two, short days.</p><p>Betty might be another person now and she might be happy with someone else… and Archie is happy for her. But there is voice inside his head that tells him to stay, a voice that he hadn’t heard for a very long time.</p><p><em>She looks happy</em>; he realizes. <em>She looks like he always wanted her to be. Happy. Carefree.</em></p><p>He doesn't even need to wonder if she passed the final exams at Yale, because common - it's Betty Cooper. But he catches himself by asking, what she is doing today, after College.</p><p>“Archie? Do you think you’ll stay till Monday?”</p><p>While Laurie’s voice buzzes through the phone in his hand, Archie’s gaze is still fixed on Betty and he takes a small step forward.</p><p>And then, suddenly, Betty turns her head a tiny bit and she seems to look right back at him.</p><p>He freezes in place and holds his breath while her green eyes find his own through the distance and the overwhelming feeling of nostalgia whirls through every vein inside his body.</p><p>Seconds go by where he simply looks back at her, admiring the sight of her shadowed face. </p><p><em>It's been so long</em>; he realizes. <em>It's been almost four years.</em></p><p>Every memory with Betty feels like a lifetime ago but somehow he can still recall the feeling that entered his body every time she looked at him. </p><p>A part of him is disappointed the moment Betty turns back around and leaves her room, a small smile still stuck on her face... but then he realizes that she probably didn't even see him standing here because of the darkness in his room.</p><p>“No”, he answers to Laurie, his fingers tightly looped around the phone.</p><p>There is a old but familiar feeling rising inside his chest, a mixture of familiarity, warmth and belonging filling him up all at once and he knows that the reason for that isn't Betty alone.</p><p>It's the feeling of being back here that he now realizes was missing all these past years.</p><p>He missed the feeling of standing in his old bedroom.</p><p>He missed the feeling of breathing in the air of his old hometown.</p><p>He missed the feeling that Betty Cooper used to give him, something that was present during his whole childhood. </p><p>And so, he makes the decision that he will stay a bit longer in Riverdale, than he originally planned.</p><p>Not because he wants to turn things back to the way they once were… no, he wants to apologize.</p><p>He wants to face his past before he walks into an unknown future and by doing so, he needs to make sure that there aren’t any old misunderstandings or bad blood left in past years, he once tried to burry.</p><p>The light in Betty Cooper’s old room gets switched off but Archie keeps starring at the now dark window, his eyes finding his own silhouette painted on the glass right before him.</p><p>He isn’t the boy he used to be.</p><p>And it seems like every other person in this town seemed to have changed as well.</p><p>But coming back here and seeing Betty through his window just like the hundreds of times in his childhood, Archie now knows that he wants to stay for a while.</p><p>Maybe just to get closure with this house and the days he spent here as a child.</p><p>Maybe to say a proper goodbye to his cursed town.</p><p>Maybe to make sure, that the person he once loved with all his heart is doing okay… and that Betty is happy with her life.</p><p>He knows that he has no longer the right to know all of these things about her… he lost them many years ago.</p><p>But Archie Andrews <em>always</em> cared for Betty Cooper. And even though she might send him to hell or ignore his presence here at all… he wants to make sure he can leave this town with a clear conscience.</p><p>Everything would have been so easy. He would have tidied out the house and leave after one weekend.</p><p>But <em>of course,</em> he would see her through the window. And <em>of course,</em> destiny would punish him for his actions with the beautiful sight of her smile.</p><p>“No, Laurie”, he adds when he finally finds his voice again. “No, I think I’ll stay a while…”.</p><p>The mandatory service will start in September and he will has to return to Riverdale for the wedding in July either way. That gives him some time to say goodbye to a few things.</p><p>
  <em>I want to know that I can leave without looking back.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I want to know that she is alright.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And maybe I want to know if just like every other person from my past, Betty Cooper has also turned into a complete stranger.</em>
</p><p>So Archie turns around, tearing his eyes away from his own silhouette and the image of the girl next door still lingering in his mind while he is <em>finally</em> on his way back to a time, a place and a person that feels like home.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>• To be continued in Part 3 •</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>It would mean the world to me to read your reaction or feedback to this final chapter!! :)<br/>We did a lot of small time jumps in this one, but we are finally back in Riverdale - the town where it all began! </p><p>We've got Veronica and Reggies wedding coming up, we have a lot of reunions, a huge amount of angst and fights in the upcoming part... but also a lot of Betty and Archie as well :)</p><p>Part 3 "The Stranger Is Forever You" will go online next week and I'll post a trailer on my twitter account (@heartwriter2607) and my YouTube channel as well.<br/>Can't wait for you to find out what will happen in the last story… things will get a bit crazy haha. </p><p>Hope you all have a lovely day and stay healthy!!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I really hope you liked this chapter!!<br/>It would mean a lot to me if you could leave a comment and maybe some feedback on how I could to things better or what you would like to read in the next chapters… </p><p>Youtube Trailer for this story is called Riverdale Season 5 - The Stranger Is Still You :) </p><p>https://youtu.be/SMmH-nQnnzE</p><p>Follow me on Twitter for updates on this or any other stories: @heartwriter2607<br/>Stay healthy!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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